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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 · patient · spring · trunk · chip · prune · fine · tear

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. chip — for betting
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. spring — a coil
  7. prune — to trim
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. season — of the year
  10. chip — to eat
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. tear — to rip
  13. fine — high quality
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. tear — from crying
  18. fine — all right
  19. spring — the season
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. spring — of water
  23. prune — to trim
  24. season — in sport

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