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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: trunk · bat · patient · stem · foot · row · wave · spell

  1. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  2. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  17. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — with your hand
  2. foot — part of the body
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. foot — the bottom
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. spell — magic
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. row — to paddle
  11. bat — the animal
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. row — a line
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. wave — a sudden rise
  17. foot — a measure
  18. spell — letters
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. spell — a short time
  24. stem — to come from

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