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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.

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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: cap · prune · kick · squash · stick · patient · cell · field

  1. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. cell — a phone
  3. cap — of ice
  4. squash — to crush
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. stick — to attach or keep to
  8. field — a subject
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. cap — a hat
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. prune — to trim
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. prune — to trim
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. field — farmland
  18. squash — the sport
  19. cell — in biology
  20. cap — a lid
  21. kick — in football
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. field — for sport

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