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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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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: band · rash · kid · charge · spring · bound · branch · patient

  1. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. The tickets are free of ________________.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. band — a ring
  3. rash — a series
  4. spring — of water
  5. kid — child
  6. charge — electricity
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. charge — in control
  9. bound — tied together
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. band — a music group
  13. spring — the season
  14. spring — a coil
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. charge — a price
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. branch — a division
  19. bound — certain
  20. kid — to tease
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. bound — obliged

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