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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: rest · bound · pop · pit · patient · wind · last · scale

  1. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. pop — to visit
  4. wind — moving air
  5. last — finally
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. bound — tied together
  10. scale — size or range
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. wind — moving air
  14. last — to go on
  15. pit — a hole
  16. rest — what's left
  17. bound — obliged
  18. pop — soda
  19. last — final
  20. scale — in music
  21. rest — what's left
  22. pit — in a race
  23. bound — certain
  24. pop — music

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