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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: mark · capital · fall · clip · ground · trunk · prune · patient

  1. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. ground — the earth
  3. fall — the season
  4. fall — to drop
  5. fall — to drop
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. prune — to trim
  8. ground — crushed
  9. mark — a trace
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. clip — for paper
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. capital — money
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. prune — to trim
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. mark — a grade
  19. clip — a video
  20. clip — to cut
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. ground — a position
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. capital — a city

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