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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: field · chest · game · date · mate · present · wax · squash

  1. That was a fun ________________.
  2. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. date — the fruit
  3. mate — to breed
  4. present — there
  5. squash — to crush
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. field — a subject
  8. chest — of your body
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. squash — the sport
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. field — for sport
  14. chest — of your body
  15. mate — a friend
  16. present — the time now
  17. game — wild animals
  18. present — a gift
  19. chest — a box
  20. mate — a partner
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. wax — to grow
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. field — farmland

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