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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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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: fall · bat · prune · rush · board · staff · patient · tube

  1. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  24. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. fall — to drop
  4. board — a flat piece
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. rush — hurry
  7. fall — to drop
  8. board — a committee
  9. fall — the season
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. tube — the underground
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. bat — the animal
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. prune — to trim
  19. prune — to trim
  20. tube — a container
  21. staff — employees
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. staff — a stick
  24. board — to get on

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