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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: bat · lie · spring · mark · rush · patient · roll · band

  1. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. We're on a ________________ here.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  24. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. roll — on a roll
  3. band — a ring
  4. roll — a list
  5. bat — the animal
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. spring — the season
  8. spring — of water
  9. roll — a cake
  10. rush — hurry
  11. spring — a coil
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. mark — a grade
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. mark — a trace
  24. lie — to recline

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