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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: prune · fan · branch · patient · tear · cold · wind · racket

  1. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. prune — to trim
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. wind — moving air
  11. tear — to rip
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. branch — a division
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. tear — from crying
  16. cold — an illness
  17. cold — not warm
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. wind — moving air
  22. prune — to trim
  23. racket — a loud noise
  24. tear — from crying

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