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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: wax · land · patient · trunk · lash · spring · dip · craft

  1. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  2. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  24. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a tree
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. land — to come down
  5. craft — boats
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. spring — a coil
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. wax — to grow
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. dip — to sink
  14. land — ground
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. spring — of water
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. spring — the season
  21. land — a country
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. lash — a whip stroke
  24. craft — a skill

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