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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: band · stem · wound · shower · sharp · patient · present · roll

  1. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. We're on a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. roll — a cake
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. present — a gift
  5. stem — to come from
  6. present — the time now
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. wound — an injury
  9. roll — a list
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. present — there
  14. band — a music group
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. shower — to wash
  17. band — a ring
  18. wound — an injury
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. sharp — clever
  21. shower — rain
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. roll — on a roll

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