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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: hand · prune · pass · squash · tear · racket · bay · patient

  1. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. My mare is ________________ in color.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. You can't go backstage without a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. tear — from crying
  3. tear — to rip
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. bay — a horse colour
  7. squash — the sport
  8. bay — a part of the sea
  9. hand — in cards
  10. hand — help
  11. prune — to trim
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. bay — to keep at bay
  14. tear — from crying
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. squash — to crush
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. pass — to spend time
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. prune — to trim
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. pass — to succeed
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. pass — a permit

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