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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 124 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 ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  2. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. swing — music
  5. prune — to trim
  6. tube — a container
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. cold — an illness
  10. net — for catching
  11. bank — of a river
  12. cold — not warm
  13. prune — to trim
  14. net — in sport
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. swing — in golf
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. bank — for money
  19. net — after costs
  20. swing — to play on
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. coach — pulled by horses
  23. tube — the underground
  24. bank — for money

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