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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: band · row · land · mouse · patient · racket · date · bound

  1. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  12. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. Have you settled on a ________________?
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  20. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — tied together
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. bound — obliged
  4. row — a line
  5. land — to come down
  6. row — to paddle
  7. land — ground
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. mouse — for a computer
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. bound — certain
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. band — a ring
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. band — a music group
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. date — the fruit
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. land — a country

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