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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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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: pound · cabinet · patient · chest · cold · band · rule · rash

  1. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. What do you think of the new ________________?
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. rule — to rule out
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. pound — a weight
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. chest — a box
  8. rash — a series
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. chest — of your body
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. band — a music group
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. cold — not warm
  16. rule — a law
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. chest — of your body
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. rule — government
  22. cold — an illness
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. rash — hasty

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