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

Word bank: band · patient · bowl · cap · tear · stem

  1. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. band — a music group
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. tear — from crying
  11. stem — to come from
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. cap — a lid
  14. cap — of ice
  15. band — a ring
  16. cap — a hat
  17. tear — from crying
  18. bowl — to roll

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