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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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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: tube · wave · band · tear · cap · patient · wound · swing

  1. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — with your hand
  2. tube — a container
  3. band — a ring
  4. tear — to rip
  5. swing — to play on
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. wound — an injury
  8. cap — of ice
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. cap — a lid
  12. wave — of the sea
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. cap — a hat
  15. band — a music group
  16. swing — in golf
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. wound — an injury
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. tube — the underground
  22. swing — music
  23. tear — from crying
  24. tear — from crying

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