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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: trunk · patient · mine · club · lash · season · shower · bound

  1. That was ________________ to happen.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — certain
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. season — in sport
  5. club — for golf
  6. club — for dancing
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. season — of the year
  10. mine — for digging
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. bound — obliged
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. bound — tied together
  18. shower — rain
  19. club — a group
  20. shower — to wash
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. lash — to lash out
  24. patient — a sick person

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