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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.

Words on the sheet
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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 · wind · rule · spring · rock · land · trunk · lean

  1. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. wind — moving air
  3. rule — government
  4. rock — music
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. rock — a stone
  11. rock — to move gently
  12. lean — thin
  13. spring — a coil
  14. spring — the season
  15. land — a country
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. rule — a law
  18. spring — of water
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. land — to come down
  21. lean — to bend
  22. land — ground
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. wind — moving air

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