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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.

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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 · rash · prune · cold · patient · mouse · deal · kid

  1. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  4. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  21. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. deal — a big deal
  5. cold — an illness
  6. kid — child
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. kid — to tease
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. rash — a series
  12. season — of the year
  13. mouse — for a computer
  14. rash — hasty
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. prune — to trim
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. cold — not warm
  20. deal — to handle
  21. deal — an agreement
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. prune — to trim
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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