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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: bay · pop · season · drill · prune · patient · row · wind

  1. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  3. My mare is ________________ in color.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  18. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. bay — a horse colour
  4. row — to paddle
  5. pop — music
  6. season — in sport
  7. drill — army training
  8. drill — the tool
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. pop — soda
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. drill — a practice
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. wind — moving air
  15. row — a line
  16. prune — to trim
  17. bay — a part of the sea
  18. bay — to keep at bay
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. prune — to trim
  21. pop — to visit
  22. season — of the year
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. season — to add flavour

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