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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: game · chest · kid · prune · wave · temple · season · patient

  1. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. When was this ________________ built?
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. season — of the year
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. game — wild animals
  6. wave — a sudden rise
  7. kid — child
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. wave — of the sea
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. game — a match
  15. chest — of your body
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. kid — to tease
  18. prune — to trim
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. temple — side of the head
  21. season — in sport
  22. chest — a box
  23. chest — of your body
  24. wave — with your hand

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