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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 120 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: wound · bulb · temple · patient · ground · band · prune · current

  1. When was this ________________ built?
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. The light ________________ burned out.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. I've got to change the light ________________.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. prune — to trim
  3. bulb — for light
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. bulb — for light
  6. ground — crushed
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. ground — the earth
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. current — electric
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. wound — an injury
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. current — happening now
  15. wound — an injury
  16. ground — a position
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. band — a music group
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. bulb — of a plant
  21. current — of water
  22. band — a ring
  23. temple — side of the head
  24. prune — to trim

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