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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: patient · club · field · band · wave · clip · sharp · charge

  1. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. The tickets are free of ________________.
  22. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  23. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. band — a music group
  3. wave — a sudden rise
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. field — farmland
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. club — for dancing
  8. field — for sport
  9. charge — electricity
  10. clip — to cut
  11. field — a subject
  12. band — a ring
  13. sharp — clever
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. clip — a video
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. charge — in control
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. clip — for paper
  20. club — a group
  21. charge — a price
  22. wave — of the sea
  23. wave — with your hand
  24. sharp — exactly

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