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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 116 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: racket · chair · capital · tear · rush · prune · last · patient

  1. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. tear — from crying
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. capital — a city
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. prune — to trim
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. capital — money
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. rush — hurry
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. tear — to rip
  14. last — finally
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. chair — a leader
  17. last — final
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. tear — from crying
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. last — to go on
  23. rush — to hurry
  24. chair — a professorship

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