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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: game · plane · bulb · band · bark · rule · patient · rash

  1. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. I've got to change the light ________________.
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. The light ________________ burned out.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. band — a music group
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. bark — to shout
  5. bulb — for light
  6. plane — a tool
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. rule — government
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. bulb — of a plant
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. bulb — for light
  15. game — wild animals
  16. rash — hasty
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. band — a ring
  19. rash — a series
  20. game — a match
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. rule — a law

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