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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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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 · chair · jam · bowl · trunk · arm · capital · patient

  1. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  24. My father caught me by the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. jam — to spread on bread
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. prune — to trim
  9. chair — a leader
  10. jam — a tight spot
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. capital — a city
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. capital — money
  20. bowl — to roll
  21. prune — to trim
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. jam — in traffic
  24. arm — part of the body

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