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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: wax · bat · tear · cabinet · bound · land · patient · shower

  1. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. shower — rain
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. bound — obliged
  5. tear — from crying
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. bat — the animal
  8. cabinet — a cupboard
  9. tear — to rip
  10. land — ground
  11. bound — tied together
  12. land — a country
  13. bound — certain
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. wax — to grow
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. shower — to wash
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. land — to come down
  22. tear — from crying
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. patient — a sick person

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