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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: prune · patient · race · cold · dip · rash · swing · band

  1. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. race — the arms race
  3. cold — an illness
  4. dip — to sink
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. race — a contest
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. prune — to trim
  9. race — humankind
  10. swing — in golf
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. rash — a series
  15. swing — to play on
  16. band — a music group
  17. swing — music
  18. rash — hasty
  19. band — a ring
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. cold — not warm
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. prune — to trim
  24. prune — the fruit

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