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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: fall · squash · toast · bank · tear · band · patient · lie

  1. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  9. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  10. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  11. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  12. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  24. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. lie — to recline
  3. band — a ring
  4. squash — to crush
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. squash — the sport
  7. band — a music group
  8. toast — bread
  9. toast — the most admired
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. toast — a drink to someone
  13. fall — to drop
  14. tear — from crying
  15. tear — to rip
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. tear — from crying
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. fall — to drop
  20. fall — the season
  21. bank — of a river
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. bank — for money
  24. bank — for money

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