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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

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

Word bank: stick · band · wind · patient · squash · tear

  1. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. squash — the sport
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. wind — moving air
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. stick — to attach or keep to
  7. tear — from crying
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. band — a music group
  12. tear — to rip
  13. tear — from crying
  14. squash — to crush
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. wind — moving air
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. patient — a sick person

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