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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: chip · prune · scale · field · shower · patient · kick · bound

  1. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  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. bound — obliged
  2. field — farmland
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. bound — tied together
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. shower — to wash
  7. scale — in music
  8. prune — to trim
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. scale — size or range
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. kick — in football
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. chip — for betting
  15. field — a subject
  16. prune — to trim
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. bound — certain
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. chip — to eat
  21. shower — rain
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. field — for sport
  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