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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: march · land · season · wax · lash · date · chip · band

  1. When are we going to ________________?
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. Have you settled on a ________________?
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  21. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. land — a country
  3. date — the fruit
  4. wax — to grow
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. march — the month
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. season — in sport
  10. lash — to lash out
  11. land — ground
  12. chip — to eat
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. march — the month
  17. chip — for betting
  18. march — music
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. lash — a whip stroke
  22. season — of the year
  23. band — a ring
  24. band — a music group

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