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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: spring · band · bound · patient · mine · race · bear · last

  1. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. last — finally
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. bear — the animal
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. race — a contest
  9. spring — a coil
  10. mine — for digging
  11. bound — obliged
  12. spring — the season
  13. race — the arms race
  14. band — a music group
  15. bound — tied together
  16. race — humankind
  17. spring — of water
  18. bear — the animal
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. band — a ring
  21. last — final
  22. bound — certain
  23. last — to go on
  24. bear — to put up with

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