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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: band · rush · ball · tube · patient · pit · cold · lean

  1. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. lean — thin
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. lean — to bend
  7. band — a music group
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. rush — hurry
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. ball — a great time
  15. cold — an illness
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. pit — a fruit stone
  18. band — a ring
  19. pit — in a race
  20. tube — a container
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. cold — not warm
  23. ball — a dance
  24. tube — the underground

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