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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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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 · temple · pit · spring · pound · cold · patient · mark

  1. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. When was this ________________ built?

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a trace
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. temple — side of the head
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. cold — not warm
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. pit — a hole
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. pit — in a race
  10. prune — to trim
  11. pound — a weight
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. prune — to trim
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. mark — a grade
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. cold — an illness
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. spring — the season
  22. spring — a coil
  23. spring — of water
  24. temple — a place of worship

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