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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 120 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: spell · mine · bank · band · wax · patient · court · ground

  1. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. bank — of a river
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. band — a music group
  5. spell — letters
  6. ground — the earth
  7. bank — for money
  8. court — for sport
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. ground — a position
  11. spell — a short time
  12. wax — to grow
  13. mine — for digging
  14. court — of law
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. bank — for money
  18. band — a ring
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. ground — crushed
  21. spell — magic
  22. court — of a king
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. wax — in the ear

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