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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: patient · race · pitcher · clip · press · prune · field · can

  1. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  16. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. press — a publisher
  3. can — to be able to
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. race — humankind
  6. prune — to trim
  7. field — a subject
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. clip — to cut
  10. clip — a video
  11. press — newspapers
  12. press — to push
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. field — for sport
  15. can — a tin
  16. can — a tin
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. clip — for paper
  20. race — the arms race
  21. race — a contest
  22. prune — to trim
  23. field — farmland
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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