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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 120 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: shower · scale · cabinet · tear · bark · patient · band · rash

  1. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. scale — size or range
  3. rash — a series
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. tear — from crying
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. tear — from crying
  9. tear — to rip
  10. scale — in music
  11. rash — hasty
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. shower — to wash
  15. cabinet — a cupboard
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. band — a ring
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. band — a music group
  22. shower — rain
  23. bark — to shout
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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