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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: mate · band · wound · last · spring · march · pitch · patient

  1. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. last — to go on
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. mate — a partner
  5. last — final
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. spring — of water
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. march — the month
  10. last — finally
  11. wound — an injury
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. spring — a coil
  14. wound — an injury
  15. spring — the season
  16. mate — a friend
  17. march — the month
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. march — music
  21. band — a ring
  22. mate — to breed
  23. pitch — completely
  24. band — a music group

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