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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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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: content · patient · last · wax · race · kick · shower · date

  1. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. Have you settled on a ________________?
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. last — to go on
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. kick — in football
  7. last — finally
  8. race — a contest
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. shower — rain
  11. shower — to wash
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. content — the amount
  14. content — happy
  15. race — the arms race
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. last — final
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. date — the fruit
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. wax — to grow
  24. race — humankind

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