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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: patient · saw · degree · rush · racket · prune · chip · tube

  1. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. prune — to trim
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. degree — an amount
  6. tube — the underground
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. saw — the tool
  11. chip — for betting
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. prune — to trim
  14. saw — the tool
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. degree — from a university
  18. tube — a container
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. chip — to eat
  21. rush — hurry
  22. degree — temperature
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. tube — in a tire

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