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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: hand · race · wave · bark · patient · content · lean · stem

  1. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. wave — a sudden rise
  2. lean — to bend
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. hand — in cards
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. wave — of the sea
  10. bark — to shout
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. wave — with your hand
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. stem — to come from
  16. race — humankind
  17. content — the amount
  18. content — happy
  19. lean — thin
  20. race — the arms race
  21. race — a contest
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. hand — help

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