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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: wind · pop · band · face · fan · mouse · rest · patient

  1. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. rest — a break
  4. face — to confront
  5. mouse — for a computer
  6. face — part of the head
  7. pop — music
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. rest — what's left
  12. wind — moving air
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. rest — what's left
  15. pop — soda
  16. pop — to visit
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. band — a music group
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. band — a ring
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. face — to point toward
  23. wind — moving air
  24. patient — a sick person

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