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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: court · prune · last · kid · mark · rash · patient · wave

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  15. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. last — to go on
  4. kid — child
  5. last — final
  6. court — of a king
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. rash — a series
  10. court — of law
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. prune — to trim
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. wave — a sudden rise
  15. wave — with your hand
  16. prune — to trim
  17. court — for sport
  18. wave — of the sea
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. mark — a trace
  21. mark — a grade
  22. rash — hasty
  23. last — finally
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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