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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: patient · bowl · wax · key · cell · content · date · saw

  1. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. key — the most important part
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. content — happy
  5. wax — to grow
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. key — in music
  11. key — for a lock
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. cell — a phone
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. content — the amount
  16. saw — the tool
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. bowl — a dish
  20. cell — in biology
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. date — the fruit
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. saw — the tool

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