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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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. prune — to trim
  3. firm — a company
  4. staff — employees
  5. mate — a partner
  6. firm — steady
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. cell — in biology
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. staff — employees
  13. mate — a friend
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. clip — a video
  16. staff — a stick
  17. clip — for paper
  18. firm — decided
  19. clip — to cut
  20. prune — to trim
  21. mate — to breed
  22. cell — a phone
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. pitch — completely

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