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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: sharp · rash · prune · coach · degree · patient · bound · season

  1. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. season — in sport
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. sharp — clever
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. degree — from a university
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. prune — to trim
  11. prune — to trim
  12. bound — certain
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. rash — hasty
  16. degree — temperature
  17. degree — an amount
  18. season — of the year
  19. rash — a series
  20. bound — tied together
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. patient — a sick person

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