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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: straw · march · spell · land · patient · mark · prune · pitcher

  1. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. mark — a trace
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. spell — letters
  6. spell — a short time
  7. land — a country
  8. land — ground
  9. land — to come down
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. march — the month
  14. march — music
  15. march — the month
  16. mark — to pay attention
  17. spell — magic
  18. mark — a grade
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. prune — to trim
  24. prune — to trim

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