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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: calf · fan · land · swing · patient · band · lie · spell

  1. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  19. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. lie — to recline
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. land — a country
  8. band — a ring
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. spell — magic
  11. spell — letters
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. swing — in golf
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. calf — of the leg
  16. spell — a short time
  17. land — ground
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. land — to come down
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. swing — to play on
  23. swing — music
  24. band — a music group

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