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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. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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. racket — a loud noise
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. field — a subject
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. last — finally
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. prune — to trim
  10. dip — to sink
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. field — for sport
  13. clip — for paper
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. content — the amount
  16. last — final
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. content — happy
  19. last — to go on
  20. clip — a video
  21. field — farmland
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. clip — to cut
  24. 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