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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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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: key · craft · patient · dip · prune · trunk · wind · squash

  1. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. craft — a skill
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. prune — to trim
  7. key — in music
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. squash — the sport
  10. wind — moving air
  11. craft — boats
  12. prune — to trim
  13. key — for a lock
  14. wind — moving air
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. key — the most important part
  17. dip — to sink
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  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