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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: cold · pass · content · ball · patient · rash · file · prune

  1. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. ball — a round shape
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. file — a tool
  5. file — a document
  6. content — happy
  7. cold — an illness
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. pass — to spend time
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. pass — to succeed
  12. ball — a dance
  13. content — the amount
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. ball — a great time
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. file — a line of people
  19. rash — hasty
  20. pass — a permit
  21. cold — not warm
  22. rash — a series
  23. prune — to trim
  24. rash — on the skin

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