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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: prune · hide · chair · pit · patient · game · trunk · kick

  1. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. prune — to trim
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. pit — in a race
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. game — a match
  11. pit — a hole
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. kick — in football
  16. game — wild animals
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. prune — to trim
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. chair — a leader
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. patient — a sick person

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