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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 120 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: patient · net · trunk · wound · wind · rock · band · kick

  1. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. wound — an injury
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. rock — to move gently
  10. net — for catching
  11. wind — moving air
  12. net — in sport
  13. band — a ring
  14. rock — a stone
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. wound — an injury
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. net — after costs
  20. band — a music group
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. kick — in football
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. rock — 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