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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: patient · saw · bowl · shower · swing · trunk · pitcher · prune

  1. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. shower — to wash
  8. saw — the tool
  9. swing — to play on
  10. saw — the tool
  11. prune — to trim
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. shower — rain
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. swing — music
  19. bowl — a dish
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. prune — to trim
  22. swing — in golf
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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