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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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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: lean · tear · stem · patient · row · bound · mug · wax

  1. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  3. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. Where did you ________________ them?
  16. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. bound — tied together
  3. mug — a cup
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. lean — to bend
  6. tear — to rip
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. bound — certain
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. tear — from crying
  13. bound — obliged
  14. wax — to grow
  15. mug — to rob
  16. mug — a face
  17. lean — thin
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. tear — from crying
  22. row — to paddle
  23. row — a line
  24. stem — to come from

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