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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: mine · patient · band · land · saw · fan · safe · march

  1. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. saw — the tool
  5. safe — a strongbox
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. band — a ring
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. march — music
  11. mine — for digging
  12. land — ground
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. band — a music group
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. land — to come down
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. march — the month
  20. saw — the tool
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. safe — out of danger
  23. land — a country
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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