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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: bat · clip · wave · rule · wake · patient · trunk · mate

  1. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — a trail
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. mate — to breed
  4. rule — a law
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. wave — of the sea
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. clip — to cut
  12. clip — a video
  13. rule — government
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. bat — the animal
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. clip — for paper
  20. mate — a friend
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. wave — a sudden rise
  23. mate — a partner
  24. patient — a sick person

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