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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: jam · bulb · wind · wax · band · land · hand · patient

  1. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  4. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  22. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. bulb — of a plant
  5. land — a country
  6. bulb — for light
  7. wind — moving air
  8. land — ground
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. hand — help
  11. band — a ring
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. wax — to grow
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. jam — a tight spot
  18. wind — moving air
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. hand — in cards
  21. jam — to spread on bread
  22. jam — in traffic
  23. bulb — for light
  24. land — to come down

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