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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 · mouse · cold · chair · squash · rest · wax

  1. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  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. rest — what's left
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. wax — to grow
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. squash — the sport
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. prune — to trim
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. chair — a leader
  13. mouse — for a computer
  14. squash — to crush
  15. cold — an illness
  16. rest — what's left
  17. cold — not warm
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. rest — a break
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. prune — to trim
  23. wax — in the ear
  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