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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 120 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 · shower · chest · patient · mine · lean · bear · ruler

  1. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. season — of the year
  4. chest — a box
  5. lean — to bend
  6. mine — for digging
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. ruler — a monarch
  10. lean — thin
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. chest — of your body
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. bear — the animal
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. shower — rain
  21. bear — the animal
  22. chest — of your body
  23. season — in sport
  24. shower — to wash

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