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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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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: wind · perch · fork · bass · patient · row · pitch · band

  1. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. perch — the fish
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. bass — low music
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. fork — in a road
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. row — a line
  13. bass — the fish
  14. pitch — completely
  15. wind — moving air
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. band — a music group
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. wind — moving air
  22. band — a ring
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. row — to paddle

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