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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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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: rash · jam · wound · chair · patient · row · straw · band

  1. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. rash — hasty
  3. wound — an injury
  4. rash — a series
  5. jam — a tight spot
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. row — to paddle
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. row — a line
  12. band — a music group
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. wound — an injury
  17. chair — a leader
  18. jam — in traffic
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. jam — to spread on bread
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. chair — to sit on

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