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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: patient · drill · ground · face · prune · file

  1. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. file — a tool
  3. prune — to trim
  4. face — to confront
  5. drill — a practice
  6. prune — to trim
  7. face — part of the head
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. ground — the earth
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. ground — a position
  12. drill — the tool
  13. file — a document
  14. ground — crushed
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. drill — army training
  17. file — a line of people
  18. face — to point toward

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