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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: cabinet · wound · chest · pound · bank · rush · band · fan

  1. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. What do you think of the new ________________?
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. chest — of your body
  7. band — a music group
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. wound — an injury
  11. cabinet — a cupboard
  12. chest — a box
  13. bank — of a river
  14. chest — of your body
  15. wound — an injury
  16. pound — a weight
  17. bank — for money
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. band — a ring
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. bank — for money

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