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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 116 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. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. band — a ring
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. wound — an injury
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. tear — from crying
  10. net — for catching
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. tear — from crying
  13. vault — a safe
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. net — after costs
  19. tear — to rip
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. net — in sport
  22. wake — a trail
  23. wound — an injury
  24. vault — an arched ceiling

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