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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: pit · wind · rash · band · net · wax · patient · bay

  1. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. net — for catching
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. band — a music group
  5. bay — a part of the sea
  6. rash — a series
  7. band — a ring
  8. pit — a hole
  9. net — after costs
  10. wind — moving air
  11. rash — hasty
  12. net — in sport
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. pit — in a race
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. bay — to keep at bay
  18. wind — moving air
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. wax — to grow
  21. pit — a fruit stone
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. band — a rubber band

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