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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: ground · coach · prune · craft · patient · band · club · chest

  1. There's no middle ________________.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  20. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. band — a ring
  3. club — for dancing
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. chest — of your body
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. prune — to trim
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. chest — a box
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. ground — the earth
  15. chest — of your body
  16. club — a group
  17. prune — to trim
  18. club — for golf
  19. craft — boats
  20. craft — a skill
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. band — a music group
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. ground — crushed

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