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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: snap · wake · wax · fan · field · patient · bound · mate

  1. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. mate — a friend
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. bound — obliged
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. bound — tied together
  10. field — farmland
  11. mate — a partner
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. bound — certain
  16. wax — to grow
  17. mate — to breed
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. wake — a trail
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. field — for sport
  22. field — a subject
  23. snap — to click
  24. fan — a supporter

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