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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: cold · wave · mark · race · prune · patient · bass · bowl

  1. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. cold — not warm
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. mark — a trace
  7. bass — low music
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. race — humankind
  12. mark — a grade
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. cold — an illness
  16. prune — to trim
  17. bowl — to roll
  18. bass — the fish
  19. wave — a sudden rise
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. race — a contest
  24. race — the arms race

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