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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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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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. club — for golf
  5. track — to keep track
  6. track — a song
  7. club — for dancing
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. bass — low music
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. clip — to cut
  12. club — a group
  13. file — a line of people
  14. track — a path
  15. bass — the fish
  16. clip — for paper
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. file — a document
  21. clip — a video
  22. file — a tool
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. prune — to trim

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