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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 116 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: race · cabinet · club · spring · saw · wound · prune · patient

  1. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. saw — the tool
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. wound — an injury
  5. race — a contest
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. prune — to trim
  8. club — for dancing
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. spring — the season
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. prune — to trim
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. spring — of water
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. club — for golf
  17. spring — a coil
  18. saw — the tool
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. wound — an injury
  23. race — humankind
  24. race — the arms race

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