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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: swing · prune · toast · game · spring · deal · patient · chair

  1. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  21. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. toast — bread
  4. game — wild animals
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. chair — a leader
  7. prune — to trim
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. toast — the most admired
  10. spring — a coil
  11. spring — the season
  12. game — a match
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. deal — to handle
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. prune — to trim
  18. swing — music
  19. swing — in golf
  20. deal — an agreement
  21. toast — a drink to someone
  22. swing — to play on
  23. spring — of water
  24. deal — a big deal

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