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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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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: bowl · patient · stem · bat · court · prune · rest · rash

  1. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. prune — to trim
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. rash — a series
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. rash — hasty
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. court — of law
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. stem — to come from
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. rest — what's left
  16. prune — to trim
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. court — for sport
  21. rest — what's left
  22. court — of a king
  23. rest — a break
  24. rash — on the skin

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