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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: hand · patient · bound · arm · bulb · rush · wind · rule

  1. That must've been a ________________.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. I've got to change the light ________________.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — a thrill
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. hand — help
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. hand — in cards
  8. wind — moving air
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. rush — hurry
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. bound — tied together
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. bound — certain
  15. rule — government
  16. wind — moving air
  17. rule — a law
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. bulb — for light
  20. bulb — for light
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. bulb — of a plant
  23. patient — a sick person
  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