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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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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: rush · chest · wave · snap · patient · band · trunk · craft

  1. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — with your hand
  2. band — a ring
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. craft — a skill
  6. band — a music group
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. rush — hurry
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. chest — a box
  14. craft — boats
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. snap — to click
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. wave — a sudden rise
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. wave — of the sea
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. chest — of your body
  23. chest — of your body
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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