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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 120 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: cue · last · clip · club · foot · prune · mine · patient

  1. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  9. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. club — for golf
  5. last — to go on
  6. prune — to trim
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. foot — part of the body
  9. cue — a hint
  10. last — final
  11. last — finally
  12. cue — for pool
  13. clip — to cut
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. foot — the bottom
  17. clip — a video
  18. foot — a measure
  19. club — for dancing
  20. prune — to trim
  21. cue — a signal
  22. club — a group
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. clip — for paper

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