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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: drill · pitch · wax · field · date · hand · safe · game

  1. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  4. Have you settled on a ________________?
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. He has no idea where the ________________ is.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. game — wild animals
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. drill — a practice
  6. field — for sport
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. drill — the tool
  9. hand — in cards
  10. game — a match
  11. drill — army training
  12. pitch — completely
  13. hand — help
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. field — a subject
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. safe — out of danger
  18. field — farmland
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. safe — out of danger
  22. date — the fruit
  23. wax — to grow
  24. safe — a strongbox

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