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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: shower · chip · patient · prune · current · season · last · toast

  1. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  2. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  3. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  4. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  5. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. chip — for betting
  2. toast — a drink to someone
  3. chip — in a computer
  4. current — of water
  5. toast — the most admired
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. shower — to wash
  8. prune — to trim
  9. prune — to trim
  10. last — final
  11. season — in sport
  12. season — of the year
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. chip — to eat
  15. current — electric
  16. shower — rain
  17. last — to go on
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. current — happening now
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. last — finally
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. toast — bread
  24. season — to add flavour

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