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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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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: face · scale · bear · bound · drill · band · court · patient

  1. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. scale — in music
  4. bear — the animal
  5. face — to confront
  6. band — a music group
  7. band — a ring
  8. bear — the animal
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. scale — size or range
  11. court — of law
  12. face — to point toward
  13. drill — the tool
  14. bound — tied together
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. bound — obliged
  17. drill — a practice
  18. drill — army training
  19. bound — certain
  20. face — part of the head
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. court — for sport
  23. court — of a king
  24. patient — a sick person

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