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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: wax · land · plane · patient · chip · bore · cell · race

  1. When are we going to ________________?
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. land — ground
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. chip — in a computer
  6. chip — to eat
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. bore — to tire
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. land — a country
  13. cell — a phone
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. plane — a tool
  16. wax — to grow
  17. race — the arms race
  18. bore — to drill
  19. race — a contest
  20. cell — in biology
  21. chip — for betting
  22. race — humankind
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. bore — gave birth

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