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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
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: key · saw · patient · prune · jam · cold · drill · bulb

  1. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  9. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  21. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. prune — to trim
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. drill — a practice
  6. cold — not warm
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. jam — in traffic
  9. bulb — of a plant
  10. bulb — for light
  11. drill — army training
  12. saw — the tool
  13. key — the most important part
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. bulb — for light
  17. key — in music
  18. saw — the tool
  19. prune — to trim
  20. key — for a lock
  21. jam — to spread on bread
  22. cold — an illness
  23. jam — a tight spot
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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