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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 116 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: lean · patient · root · mark · prune · straw · cold · coach

  1. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  3. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. mark — a trace
  3. root — of a plant
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. cold — not warm
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. mark — a grade
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. lean — to bend
  13. mark — to pay attention
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. root — the cause
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. prune — to trim
  19. prune — to trim
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. root — of a word
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. cold — an illness

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