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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: degree · prune · plane · last · patient · coach · fall · bass

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. plane — in geometry
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. prune — to trim
  7. fall — to drop
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. fall — to drop
  10. fall — the season
  11. bass — low music
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. plane — a tool
  15. last — finally
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. last — to go on
  18. degree — from a university
  19. degree — an amount
  20. degree — temperature
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. bass — the fish
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. prune — to trim

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