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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 120 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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Word bank
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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: prune · band · court · patient · stem · saw

  1. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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. band — a ring
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. stem — to come from
  6. band — a music group
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. prune — to trim
  10. court — of a king
  11. saw — the tool
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. court — for sport
  14. saw — the tool
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. prune — to trim
  18. court — of law

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