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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: mate · patient · net · field · kick · tube · wax · tear

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. tube — the underground
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. net — in sport
  7. net — after costs
  8. mate — to breed
  9. tear — from crying
  10. tube — a container
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. wax — to grow
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. field — for sport
  15. kick — in football
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. mate — a partner
  19. tear — from crying
  20. field — a subject
  21. net — for catching
  22. mate — a friend
  23. tear — to rip
  24. patient — a sick person

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