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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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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 · staff · rest · patient · wave · degree · wake · field

  1. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  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. patient — calm and waiting
  2. staff — a stick
  3. wax — to grow
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. wave — a sudden rise
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. degree — an amount
  9. wake — a trail
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. rest — what's left
  13. field — for sport
  14. staff — employees
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. staff — employees
  17. rest — a break
  18. rest — what's left
  19. field — a subject
  20. degree — from a university
  21. field — farmland
  22. wave — of the sea
  23. wax — in the ear
  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