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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: fall · band · patient · trunk · shower · mouse · wound · pitch

  1. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. fall — to drop
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. shower — to wash
  9. mouse — for a computer
  10. band — a ring
  11. wound — an injury
  12. pitch — completely
  13. wound — an injury
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. band — a music group
  16. shower — rain
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. fall — to drop
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. fall — the season
  24. mouse — the animal

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