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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: spring · wax · saw · net · date · bear · wave · wound

  1. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  2. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. bear — the animal
  3. wave — with your hand
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. wave — of the sea
  6. wax — to grow
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. spring — a coil
  9. spring — of water
  10. net — after costs
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. net — for catching
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. bear — the animal
  15. saw — the tool
  16. date — the fruit
  17. wound — an injury
  18. spring — the season
  19. wave — a sudden rise
  20. saw — the tool
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. bear — to put up with
  23. wound — an injury
  24. net — in sport

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