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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 · row · face · tear · prune · staff · bowl · ball

  1. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. face — to point toward
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. ball — a dance
  5. face — part of the head
  6. prune — to trim
  7. row — a line
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. staff — employees
  11. tear — from crying
  12. ball — a great time
  13. tear — from crying
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. staff — a stick
  16. face — to confront
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. bowl — a football final
  20. prune — to trim
  21. row — to paddle
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. tear — to rip

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