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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: bark · wound · deal · patient · pass · last · fine · band

  1. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  18. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  19. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  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. pass — to succeed
  2. wound — an injury
  3. last — finally
  4. last — to go on
  5. fine — all right
  6. bark — to shout
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. deal — to handle
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. fine — a penalty
  11. last — final
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. band — a ring
  14. wound — an injury
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. pass — a permit
  18. pass — to spend time
  19. deal — a big deal
  20. fine — high quality
  21. deal — an agreement
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  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