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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: pass · bound · land · prune · wake · can · patient · file

  1. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  6. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  16. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  17. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  18. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  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. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. bound — obliged
  3. file — a document
  4. prune — to trim
  5. can — a tin
  6. pass — a permit
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. wake — a trail
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. land — a country
  11. bound — certain
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. bound — tied together
  14. prune — to trim
  15. pass — to succeed
  16. pass — to spend time
  17. can — a tin
  18. can — to be able to
  19. land — to come down
  20. file — a tool
  21. land — ground
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. file — a line of people
  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