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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 · bear · chest · patient · temple · mark · wax · bore

  1. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. When was this ________________ built?
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  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. wax — to grow
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. chest — of your body
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. bear — the animal
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. temple — side of the head
  12. bore — to drill
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. field — for sport
  16. field — farmland
  17. chest — a box
  18. bore — to tire
  19. mark — a grade
  20. chest — of your body
  21. bear — the animal
  22. mark — a trace
  23. field — a subject
  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