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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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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: coach · kick · bear · prune · saw · patient · fall · root

  1. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. root — of a word
  5. prune — to trim
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. saw — the tool
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. root — the cause
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. fall — the season
  12. fall — to drop
  13. fall — to drop
  14. bear — the animal
  15. root — of a plant
  16. saw — the tool
  17. prune — to trim
  18. kick — in football
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. bear — the animal
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  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