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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: ball · kid · patient · band · cold · firm · pound · wave

  1. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  24. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — decided
  2. kid — child
  3. kid — to tease
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. ball — a great time
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. firm — a company
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. cold — an illness
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. ball — a dance
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. band — a music group
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. wave — of the sea
  18. band — a ring
  19. wave — a sudden rise
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. pound — a weight
  22. cold — not warm
  23. firm — steady
  24. wave — with your hand

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