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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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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: game · patient · wake · wax · bore · land · stem · clip

  1. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. clip — for paper
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. clip — to cut
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. clip — a video
  7. game — a match
  8. land — to come down
  9. land — a country
  10. wake — a trail
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. bore — to tire
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. bore — to drill
  18. land — ground
  19. stem — to come from
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. game — wild animals
  23. wax — to grow
  24. wake — before a funeral

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