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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.

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: season · lie · wind · band · patient · wake · spring · rule

  1. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. rule — a law
  8. wind — moving air
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. wind — moving air
  11. spring — of water
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. band — a music group
  15. rule — government
  16. wake — a trail
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. season — of the year
  20. spring — the season
  21. season — in sport
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. band — a ring
  24. lie — to recline

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