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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.

Make a worksheet

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: track · mine · patient · wind · plane · stem · date · wax

  1. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. Have you settled on a ________________?
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. wind — moving air
  3. wax — to grow
  4. date — the fruit
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. track — to keep track
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. stem — to come from
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. mine — for digging
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. plane — a tool
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. track — a song
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. track — a path
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. wind — moving air
  24. stem — a stem cell

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