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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 · kick · charge · land · stem · prune · chest · sharp

  1. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. The tickets are free of ________________.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. prune — to trim
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. kick — in football
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. chest — a box
  10. chest — of your body
  11. stem — to come from
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. charge — in control
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. charge — electricity
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. land — a country
  19. land — ground
  20. land — to come down
  21. chest — of your body
  22. charge — a price
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. prune — to trim

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