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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 116 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 · spring · board · pound · band · ruler · shower · row

  1. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  6. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  23. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. band — a music group
  3. row — a line
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. ruler — a monarch
  6. board — to get on
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. row — to paddle
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. shower — to wash
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. band — a ring
  14. spring — of water
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. pound — a weight
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. spring — a coil
  22. board — a committee
  23. board — a flat piece
  24. shower — rain

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