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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · field · tube · row · plane · drill · present · patient

  1. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. tube — the underground
  3. tube — a container
  4. row — a line
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. field — a subject
  7. drill — army training
  8. band — a ring
  9. present — the time now
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. band — a music group
  12. row — to paddle
  13. present — a gift
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. drill — the tool
  17. field — farmland
  18. drill — a practice
  19. field — for sport
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. plane — a tool
  22. present — there
  23. plane — in geometry
  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