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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: bay · straw · net · bank · rest · band · bat · patient

  1. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. My mare is ________________ in color.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — of a river
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. rest — a break
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. bay — to keep at bay
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. net — for catching
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. bay — a horse colour
  11. bat — the animal
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. net — in sport
  15. bay — a part of the sea
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. band — a ring
  18. net — after costs
  19. bank — for money
  20. rest — what's left
  21. bank — for money
  22. rest — what's left
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. band — a music group

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