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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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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 · cold · board · band · patient · pitch · pound · bulb

  1. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. I've got to change the light ________________.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. The light ________________ burned out.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. pitch — completely
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. board — a committee
  5. bulb — for light
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. cold — an illness
  10. shower — rain
  11. pound — a weight
  12. board — a flat piece
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. bulb — for light
  15. band — a ring
  16. shower — to wash
  17. board — to get on
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. bulb — of a plant
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. band — a music group
  24. cold — not warm

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