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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: patient · bat · trunk · wake · ruler · shower · season · plane

  1. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  4. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. bat — the animal
  3. ruler — for measuring
  4. plane — in geometry
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. plane — a tool
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. ruler — a monarch
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. season — of the year
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. shower — rain
  18. shower — to wash
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. wake — a trail
  21. season — in sport
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. trunk — of a car

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