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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 116 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: drill · object · content · band · degree · patient · hand · can

  1. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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. band — a rubber band
  4. object — an aim
  5. drill — a practice
  6. can — a tin
  7. content — the amount
  8. band — a music group
  9. object — to protest
  10. degree — from a university
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. can — a tin
  13. degree — temperature
  14. object — a thing
  15. drill — the tool
  16. hand — in cards
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. can — to be able to
  19. drill — army training
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. hand — help
  23. degree — an amount
  24. content — happy

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