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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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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: wave · trunk · hand · rest · band · cold · patient · fine

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  20. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  21. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. rest — what's left
  5. fine — all right
  6. rest — a break
  7. rest — what's left
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. fine — high quality
  15. hand — help
  16. band — a music group
  17. cold — not warm
  18. band — a ring
  19. fine — a penalty
  20. wave — of the sea
  21. wave — a sudden rise
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. hand — in cards
  24. wave — with your hand

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