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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 120 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. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  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. patient — calm and waiting
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. prune — to trim
  7. cold — not warm
  8. rest — what's left
  9. land — to come down
  10. land — ground
  11. staff — employees
  12. rest — a break
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. staff — a stick
  15. prune — to trim
  16. squash — the sport
  17. rest — what's left
  18. land — a country
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. plane — a tool
  21. staff — employees
  22. cold — an illness
  23. squash — to crush
  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