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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 was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. prune — to trim
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. land — to come down
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. present — the time now
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. tube — a container
  12. branch — a division
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. present — there
  15. present — a gift
  16. land — ground
  17. land — a country
  18. ball — a dance
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. prune — to trim
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. tube — the underground
  23. shower — rain
  24. shower — to wash

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