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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: tear · season · chair · prune · patient · cold · wave · cell

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. cold — an illness
  3. cell — a phone
  4. tear — to rip
  5. prune — to trim
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. prune — to trim
  8. cold — not warm
  9. cell — in biology
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. chair — a leader
  12. season — in sport
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. wave — a sudden rise
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. wave — with your hand
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. tear — from crying
  21. tear — from crying
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. wave — of the sea
  24. season — of the year

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