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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: wind · march · rest · patient · arm · wound · tear · hand

  1. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. My father caught me by the ________________.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. wound — an injury
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. march — music
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. march — the month
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. rest — what's left
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. tear — from crying
  12. hand — in cards
  13. rest — what's left
  14. wind — moving air
  15. tear — to rip
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. hand — help
  18. march — the month
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. wound — an injury
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. tear — from crying
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. wind — moving air

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