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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: pound · pop · last · patient · band · fall · present · rule

  1. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. fall — to drop
  3. present — the time now
  4. last — to go on
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. last — final
  8. last — finally
  9. pound — a weight
  10. rule — government
  11. fall — to drop
  12. present — a gift
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. pop — to visit
  15. band — a ring
  16. band — a music group
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. fall — the season
  20. pop — soda
  21. present — there
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. pop — music
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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