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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
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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: patient · wave · saw · stem · season · row · prune · swing

  1. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. swing — music
  3. row — a line
  4. row — to paddle
  5. wave — a sudden rise
  6. prune — to trim
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. prune — to trim
  9. wave — of the sea
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. swing — to play on
  13. saw — the tool
  14. wave — with your hand
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. saw — the tool
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. stem — to come from
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. swing — in golf
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. season — of the year

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