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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: band · cold · firm · present · squash · plane · stem · patient

  1. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. stem — to come from
  5. cold — an illness
  6. firm — a company
  7. band — a ring
  8. squash — the sport
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. plane — a tool
  11. band — a music group
  12. plane — in geometry
  13. present — there
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. present — a gift
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. squash — to crush
  19. cold — not warm
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. present — the time now
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. firm — decided

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