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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 124 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: straw · prune · nail · rush · patient · chest · land · spell

  1. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. spell — magic
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. chest — of your body
  6. chest — of your body
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. prune — to trim
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. rush — hurry
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. land — to come down
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. prune — to trim
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. spell — a short time
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. spell — letters
  21. land — a country
  22. land — ground
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. chest — a box

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