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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: patient · tear · deal · land · stem · lean · wax · bat

  1. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  5. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. bat — the animal
  3. land — to come down
  4. deal — a big deal
  5. deal — to handle
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. tear — from crying
  8. deal — an agreement
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. tear — from crying
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. lean — to bend
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. land — a country
  15. land — ground
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. lean — thin
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. tear — to rip
  20. stem — to come from
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. wax — to grow

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