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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: snap · field · hand · ball · rest · date · wax · season

  1. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  4. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. field — farmland
  3. date — the fruit
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. hand — help
  7. rest — what's left
  8. ball — a great time
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. field — for sport
  13. season — in sport
  14. ball — a dance
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. season — of the year
  17. hand — in cards
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. snap — to click
  20. wax — to grow
  21. field — a subject
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. rest — what's left
  24. wax — in the ear

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