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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: season · date · kick · patient · cell · bore · can · prune

  1. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. Recycle the empty soda ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. cell — in biology
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. can — a tin
  5. prune — to trim
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. season — in sport
  8. date — the fruit
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. bore — to drill
  13. bore — to tire
  14. can — to be able to
  15. cell — a phone
  16. kick — in football
  17. season — of the year
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. prune — to trim
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. can — a tin

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