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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: bat · rush · staff · patient · fork · band · tear · key

  1. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. Hard work is the ________________ to success.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. tear — from crying
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. staff — employees
  10. band — a ring
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. rush — hurry
  13. key — in music
  14. tear — from crying
  15. key — for a lock
  16. staff — a stick
  17. staff — employees
  18. bat — the animal
  19. band — a music group
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. fork — in a road
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. key — the most important part

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