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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: sharp · band · stand · bulb · wind · tear · prune · patient

  1. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. I've got to change the light ________________.
  11. I can't ________________ this cold.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. sharp — clever
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. stand — for spectators
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. bulb — for light
  7. prune — to trim
  8. tear — from crying
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. bulb — for light
  11. stand — to bear
  12. wind — moving air
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. wind — moving air
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. prune — to trim
  17. stand — on your feet
  18. tear — from crying
  19. tear — to rip
  20. band — a music group
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. band — a ring
  24. bulb — of a plant

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