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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: prune · rash · spring · chair · patient · drill · can · degree

  1. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  10. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. rash — a series
  2. prune — to trim
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. chair — a leader
  5. drill — a practice
  6. spring — a coil
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. can — a tin
  10. can — a tin
  11. prune — to trim
  12. spring — the season
  13. degree — from a university
  14. spring — of water
  15. drill — the tool
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. rash — hasty
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. degree — temperature
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. can — to be able to
  23. drill — army training
  24. degree — an amount

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