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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: band · wind · patient · hide · pound · race

  1. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. wind — moving air
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. race — a contest
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. wind — moving air
  13. band — a ring
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. race — humankind
  16. pound — a weight
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. race — the arms race

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