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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 124 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: cap · chip · nail · band · lie · court · patient · prune

  1. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. cap — of ice
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. lie — to recline
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. prune — to trim
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. court — of a king
  11. chip — to eat
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. cap — a hat
  14. cap — a lid
  15. prune — to trim
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. court — for sport
  18. band — a music group
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. court — of law
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. chip — for betting
  24. patient — a sick person

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