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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 120 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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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 · kick · swing · foot · prune · rash · cold · object

  1. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  24. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. prune — to trim
  3. foot — the bottom
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. prune — to trim
  6. cold — an illness
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. foot — part of the body
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. rash — hasty
  12. object — an aim
  13. cold — not warm
  14. swing — music
  15. foot — a measure
  16. swing — to play on
  17. swing — in golf
  18. rash — a series
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. kick — in football
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. object — to protest
  24. object — a thing

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