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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: patient · bark · stem · march · saw · race · sharp · band

  1. He works in a ________________ mill.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  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. saw — the tool
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. bark — to shout
  5. race — humankind
  6. saw — the tool
  7. march — the month
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. sharp — clever
  11. march — music
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. band — a music group
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. band — a ring
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. march — the month
  20. race — the arms race
  21. stem — to come from
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. race — a contest
  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