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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: prune · bulb · bark · content · patient · bore · rest · band

  1. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. The light ________________ burned out.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. prune — to trim
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. bulb — for light
  5. band — a music group
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. content — the amount
  8. bulb — of a plant
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. bore — to tire
  12. band — a ring
  13. bulb — for light
  14. rest — what's left
  15. bore — to drill
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. rest — a break
  19. rest — what's left
  20. bark — to shout
  21. content — happy
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. prune — to trim
  24. bark — of a tree

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