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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: patient · tear · prune · shower · march · stand · wave · band

  1. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  2. I can't ________________ this cold.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — a sudden rise
  2. stand — to bear
  3. tear — from crying
  4. prune — to trim
  5. prune — to trim
  6. wave — of the sea
  7. tear — from crying
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. band — a ring
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. shower — rain
  12. tear — to rip
  13. wave — with your hand
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. stand — on your feet
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. march — music
  18. band — a music group
  19. shower — to wash
  20. march — the month
  21. march — the month
  22. stand — for spectators
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. band — a rubber band

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