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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: saw · bulb · mine · field · date · wave · hide · wake

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  7. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. The light ________________ burned out.
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  18. I've got to change the light ________________.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  21. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. field — a subject
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. wave — a sudden rise
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. field — for sport
  9. mine — for digging
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. saw — the tool
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. bulb — for light
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. bulb — of a plant
  18. bulb — for light
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. wave — with your hand
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. wake — a trail
  23. saw — the tool
  24. date — the fruit

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