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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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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: cabinet · prune · season · bore · capital · squash · hand · patient

  1. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. cabinet — a cupboard
  8. bore — to drill
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. hand — help
  12. bore — to tire
  13. capital — a city
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. squash — the sport
  16. capital — money
  17. prune — to trim
  18. season — in sport
  19. hand — in cards
  20. season — of the year
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. prune — to trim
  24. squash — to crush

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