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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: clip · current · band · mouse · fine · patient · wind · row

  1. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. mouse — for a computer
  9. wind — moving air
  10. clip — to cut
  11. row — a line
  12. current — of water
  13. clip — for paper
  14. current — happening now
  15. band — a music group
  16. clip — a video
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. wind — moving air
  20. fine — all right
  21. band — a ring
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. row — to paddle
  24. current — electric

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