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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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. mouse — for a computer
  5. spell — letters
  6. kick — in football
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. prune — to trim
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. last — final
  16. last — finally
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. prune — to trim
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. pound — a weight
  21. spell — a short time
  22. spell — magic
  23. last — to go on
  24. coach — a trainer

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