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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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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: rule · band · cue · patient · rock · bark · plane · kid

  1. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. rock — music
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. kid — to tease
  8. rock — to move gently
  9. rule — government
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. band — a music group
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. cue — a hint
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. plane — a tool
  17. rock — a stone
  18. cue — for pool
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. band — a ring
  21. bark — to shout
  22. kid — child
  23. rule — a law
  24. patient — a sick person

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