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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.

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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: cell · chest · bore · band · patient · drill · prune · last

  1. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. cell — in biology
  4. cell — a phone
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. last — final
  8. band — a ring
  9. bore — to drill
  10. chest — of your body
  11. chest — of your body
  12. chest — a box
  13. bore — to tire
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. last — to go on
  16. prune — to trim
  17. band — a music group
  18. last — finally
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. prune — to trim
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. drill — a practice
  23. drill — the tool
  24. drill — army training

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