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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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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: patient · march · wax · rest · clip · season · cell · band

  1. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. clip — to cut
  3. rest — what's left
  4. season — of the year
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. rest — what's left
  7. cell — in biology
  8. march — the month
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. band — a music group
  11. march — music
  12. cell — a phone
  13. clip — for paper
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. season — in sport
  17. march — the month
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. rest — a break
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. band — a ring
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. clip — a video
  24. wax — to grow

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