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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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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: foot · rock · swing · patient · date · cell · prune · clip

  1. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. Have you settled on a ________________?
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  14. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — the bottom
  2. rock — music
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. clip — a video
  7. prune — to trim
  8. cell — a phone
  9. date — the fruit
  10. prune — to trim
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. clip — for paper
  13. foot — part of the body
  14. foot — a measure
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. swing — music
  18. clip — to cut
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. rock — a stone
  21. cell — in biology
  22. swing — to play on
  23. swing — in golf
  24. cell — in a prison

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