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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: club · game · chair · stand · prune · shower · wind · patient

  1. That was a fun ________________.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. I can't ________________ this cold.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. wind — moving air
  3. stand — for spectators
  4. prune — to trim
  5. wind — moving air
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. stand — to bear
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. club — for golf
  12. prune — to trim
  13. club — for dancing
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. club — a group
  17. game — wild animals
  18. shower — to wash
  19. stand — on your feet
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. chair — a leader
  23. shower — rain
  24. prune — the fruit

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