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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: patient · wind · date · kick · wax · present

  1. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. Have you settled on a ________________?
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. wind — moving air
  3. wax — to grow
  4. present — there
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. present — a gift
  7. wind — moving air
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. present — the time now
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. date — the fruit
  13. kick — in football
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. date — on the calendar

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