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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 120 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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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: pound · trunk · squash · patient · wake · temple · field · snap

  1. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. When was this ________________ built?
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. squash — the sport
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. field — a subject
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. squash — to crush
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. wake — a trail
  12. temple — side of the head
  13. pound — a weight
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. field — for sport
  19. snap — to click
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. field — farmland
  24. pound — to hit hard

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