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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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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: sharp · prune · firm · land · patient · foot · chair · drill

  1. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  5. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  12. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  13. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. prune — to trim
  3. sharp — clever
  4. firm — a company
  5. firm — decided
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. land — a country
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. chair — a leader
  11. firm — steady
  12. foot — the bottom
  13. foot — a measure
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. land — ground
  17. land — to come down
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. drill — a practice
  20. foot — part of the body
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. drill — the tool
  23. drill — army training
  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