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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: content · lean · pit · tube · patient · prune · straw · spring

  1. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. Boris sat near the fire ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. tube — the underground
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. spring — the season
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. lean — thin
  8. spring — a coil
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. content — happy
  14. prune — to trim
  15. tube — a container
  16. lean — to bend
  17. content — the amount
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. pit — a fruit stone
  20. spring — of water
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. pit — in a race
  24. pit — a hole

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