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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: mine · swing · pitch · prune · spring · bore · patient · dip

  1. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. mine — for digging
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. swing — music
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. bore — to tire
  7. swing — in golf
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. spring — the season
  11. swing — to play on
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. prune — to trim
  16. pitch — completely
  17. dip — to sink
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. prune — to trim
  20. spring — of water
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. spring — a coil
  23. bore — to drill
  24. dip — to dunk

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