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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 · key · branch · band · field · firm · sharp · patient

  1. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. band — a ring
  3. wind — moving air
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. firm — steady
  7. field — a subject
  8. wind — moving air
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. key — the most important part
  11. band — a music group
  12. key — in music
  13. key — for a lock
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. branch — a division
  19. field — farmland
  20. firm — decided
  21. sharp — clever
  22. firm — a company
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. field — for sport

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