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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: dip · prune · mine · chest · plane · club · patient · cold

  1. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. mine — for digging
  3. chest — of your body
  4. dip — to sink
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. cold — an illness
  7. plane — a tool
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. club — for dancing
  12. chest — of your body
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. cold — not warm
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. club — a group
  18. prune — to trim
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. chest — a box
  21. club — for golf
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. prune — to trim

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