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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: rush · patient · content · prune · bass · track · nail · clip

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. track — a path
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. bass — low music
  5. rush — hurry
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. clip — for paper
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. prune — to trim
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. bass — the fish
  14. track — to keep track
  15. prune — to trim
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. clip — a video
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. content — the amount
  21. track — a song
  22. content — happy
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. patient — a sick person

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