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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: cell · chest · bore · band · patient · drill

  1. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. cell — in biology
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. chest — of your body
  5. cell — a phone
  6. drill — army training
  7. chest — a box
  8. bore — gave birth
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. bore — to drill
  11. bore — to tire
  12. drill — the tool
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. band — a music group
  16. drill — a practice
  17. band — a ring
  18. patient — calm and waiting

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