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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: board · prune · spring · fork · patient · file · stem · clip

  1. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  10. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. spring — a coil
  3. file — a document
  4. board — to get on
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. file — a tool
  8. clip — a video
  9. board — a flat piece
  10. board — a committee
  11. spring — of water
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. stem — to come from
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. prune — to trim
  19. prune — to trim
  20. clip — for paper
  21. fork — in a road
  22. file — a line of people
  23. clip — to cut
  24. spring — the season

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