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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.

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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: patient · date · prune · pound · race · wake · mug · hand

  1. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. Where did you ________________ them?
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. mug — a cup
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. race — a contest
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. mug — a face
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. hand — help
  11. pound — a weight
  12. mug — to rob
  13. wake — a trail
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. prune — to trim
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. race — humankind
  18. hand — in cards
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. race — the arms race
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. date — the fruit
  24. pound — to hit hard

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