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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 · mate · fall · land · patient · present · mine · band

  1. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  14. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. band — a ring
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. fall — to drop
  6. mate — to breed
  7. mate — a friend
  8. mate — a partner
  9. fall — the season
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. band — a music group
  12. present — the time now
  13. jam — a tight spot
  14. jam — to spread on bread
  15. land — to come down
  16. jam — in traffic
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. present — there
  19. fall — to drop
  20. land — a country
  21. mine — for digging
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. land — ground
  24. mine — belonging to me

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