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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. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. prune — to trim
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. bass — low music
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. bass — the fish
  11. wind — moving air
  12. swing — to play on
  13. clip — to cut
  14. swing — music
  15. clip — for paper
  16. swing — in golf
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. clip — a video
  19. pitch — completely
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. prune — to trim
  22. pound — a weight
  23. wind — moving air
  24. pitch — a sports field

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