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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: band · row · wave · patient · mine · craft · stem · chest

  1. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  23. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. row — to paddle
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. chest — a box
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. wave — with your hand
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. band — a ring
  12. chest — of your body
  13. craft — a skill
  14. band — a music group
  15. chest — of your body
  16. mine — for digging
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. craft — boats
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. stem — to come from
  21. row — a line
  22. wave — of the sea
  23. wave — a sudden rise
  24. stem — a stem cell

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