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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. tear — to rip
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. band — a ring
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. bound — certain
  7. bound — tied together
  8. band — a music group
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. row — to paddle
  11. bound — obliged
  12. row — a line
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. tear — from crying
  15. face — to point toward
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. kick — in football
  19. face — to confront
  20. tear — from crying
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. stem — to come from
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. face — part of the head

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com