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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 · suit · mine · bat · perch · game · wax · date

  1. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. When will it ________________ you to start?
  5. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  6. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. suit — to fit
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. suit — clothes
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. date — the fruit
  9. perch — the fish
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. bat — the animal
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. mine — for digging
  17. game — a match
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. suit — in cards
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. game — wild animals
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. bat — for baseball

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