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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 116 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: kick · wind · fork · rest · patient · rash · band · file

  1. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. band — a ring
  5. rest — a break
  6. file — a line of people
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. band — a music group
  11. fork — in a road
  12. rest — what's left
  13. kick — in football
  14. wind — moving air
  15. rash — a series
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. file — a tool
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. wind — moving air
  21. file — a document
  22. rash — hasty
  23. kick — a thrill
  24. rest — what's left

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