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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: mine · band · cell · firm · ruler · patient · capital · bass

  1. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  13. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  16. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. cell — in biology
  4. firm — a company
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. ruler — for measuring
  7. band — a music group
  8. capital — a city
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. bass — low music
  11. mine — for digging
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. ruler — a monarch
  14. cell — a phone
  15. firm — steady
  16. firm — decided
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. band — a ring
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. bass — the fish
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. bass — the instrument

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