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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 116 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. game — a match
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. pass — a permit
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. prune — to trim
  9. pass — to succeed
  10. game — wild animals
  11. prune — to trim
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. leaves — to go away
  14. wind — moving air
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. pass — to spend time
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. patient — a sick person

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