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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: mate · patient · trunk · bat · land · degree · foot · wave

  1. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  14. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  23. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. land — ground
  3. degree — an amount
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. mate — a partner
  6. land — a country
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. foot — part of the body
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. foot — a measure
  14. foot — the bottom
  15. bat — the animal
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. degree — from a university
  18. mate — a friend
  19. land — to come down
  20. mate — to breed
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. wave — a sudden rise
  23. wave — of the sea
  24. degree — temperature

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