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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 116 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: patient · dip · mine · prune · wound · bat · mug · fine

  1. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. Where did you ________________ them?
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  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. mug — a face
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. fine — high quality
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. mine — for digging
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. wound — an injury
  10. wound — an injury
  11. mug — a cup
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. bat — the animal
  14. mug — to rob
  15. prune — to trim
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. fine — all right
  21. dip — to sink
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. prune — the fruit
  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