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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: lie · coach · shower · stick · chest · prune · patient · field

  1. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  18. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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

Answer key

  1. lie — an untruth
  2. shower — rain
  3. stick — to attach or keep to
  4. chest — of your body
  5. field — a subject
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. field — for sport
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. prune — to trim
  10. field — farmland
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. prune — to trim
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. lie — to recline
  19. chest — of your body
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. shower — to wash
  22. chest — a box
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. coach — pulled by horses

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