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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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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: cue · patient · chest · face · band · straw · pound · mug

  1. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  6. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  14. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  15. Where did you ________________ them?
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. chest — of your body
  3. chest — of your body
  4. face — to confront
  5. cue — a signal
  6. cue — a hint
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. face — part of the head
  10. cue — for pool
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. mug — a face
  14. mug — a cup
  15. mug — to rob
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. chest — a box
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. face — to point toward
  22. band — a ring
  23. band — a music group
  24. straw — a straw man

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