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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.

Words on the sheet
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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 · trunk · bat · object · spell · date · pound · row

  1. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  2. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. object — a thing
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. spell — a short time
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. row — a line
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. spell — magic
  9. spell — letters
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. pound — a weight
  12. object — an aim
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. date — the fruit
  15. object — to protest
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. bat — the animal
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. row — to paddle
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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