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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: perch · patient · bore · firm · cold · band · sharp · bass

  1. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  2. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — decided
  2. firm — a company
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. bore — to tire
  5. firm — steady
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. band — a ring
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. bass — the fish
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. band — a music group
  14. bass — low music
  15. cold — an illness
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. bore — to drill
  20. sharp — clever
  21. bore — gave birth
  22. perch — the fish
  23. cold — not warm
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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