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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: prune · cold · race · lie · rule · band · cue · patient

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  23. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. prune — to trim
  4. band — a music group
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. rule — a law
  7. race — a contest
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. race — humankind
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. band — a ring
  12. rule — government
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. cue — a hint
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. prune — to trim
  17. cue — a signal
  18. race — the arms race
  19. cold — not warm
  20. cue — for pool
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. lie — to recline
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. cold — the Cold War

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