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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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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: band · present · mine · drill · rest · lash · patient · tear

  1. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. drill — a practice
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. tear — from crying
  6. rest — what's left
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. present — there
  10. present — a gift
  11. rest — a break
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. tear — to rip
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. present — the time now
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. drill — the tool
  19. band — a ring
  20. tear — from crying
  21. lash — to lash out
  22. rest — what's left
  23. mine — for digging
  24. drill — army training

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