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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 120 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: chair · ball · patient · rest · band · march · plane · tear

  1. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. chair — a leader
  4. band — a music group
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. rest — a break
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. tear — from crying
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. ball — a dance
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. rest — what's left
  14. band — a ring
  15. march — the month
  16. tear — from crying
  17. plane — a tool
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. march — the month
  20. march — music
  21. ball — a great time
  22. rest — what's left
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. plane — an aircraft

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