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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: patient · field · squash · bark · prune · ruler · kick · fan

  1. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  12. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. The people resisted their cruel ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. field — a subject
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. field — for sport
  8. bark — to shout
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. prune — to trim
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. prune — to trim
  18. kick — in football
  19. field — farmland
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. squash — the sport
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. squash — to crush
  24. ruler — a monarch

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