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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: fall · chest · sharp · patient · prune · jam · bark · racket

  1. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. Tom got himself in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. bark — to shout
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. jam — to spread on bread
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. prune — to trim
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. jam — in traffic
  14. chest — of your body
  15. chest — of your body
  16. fall — to drop
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. racket — a loud noise
  19. fall — to drop
  20. fall — the season
  21. chest — a box
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. prune — to trim
  24. jam — a tight spot

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