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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: field · craft · shower · prune · perch · plane · patient · hand

  1. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. shower — rain
  4. prune — to trim
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. craft — boats
  7. perch — the fish
  8. field — farmland
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. field — for sport
  11. shower — to wash
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. prune — to trim
  14. craft — a skill
  15. plane — a tool
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. hand — help
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. field — a subject
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. hand — in cards
  24. plane — in geometry

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