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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: plane · ground · hand · wax · patient · rash · field · game

  1. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — a tool
  2. wax — to grow
  3. game — a match
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. plane — in geometry
  7. hand — in cards
  8. rash — a series
  9. field — a subject
  10. rash — hasty
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. hand — help
  13. field — for sport
  14. field — farmland
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. game — wild animals
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. ground — a position
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. ground — the earth
  24. ground — crushed

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