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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 116 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: patient · cold · kick · wax · trunk · fine

  1. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. wax — to grow
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. fine — all right
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. cold — not warm
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. cold — an illness
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. fine — high quality
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. kick — a thrill

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