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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: rest · face · club · bulb · band · patient · prune · tear

  1. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. prune — to trim
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. face — part of the head
  6. bulb — for light
  7. club — for golf
  8. prune — to trim
  9. band — a music group
  10. club — for dancing
  11. face — to confront
  12. band — a ring
  13. bulb — of a plant
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. rest — what's left
  17. bulb — for light
  18. tear — from crying
  19. tear — to rip
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. tear — from crying
  22. club — a group
  23. rest — what's left
  24. rest — a break

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