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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: date · wax · chair · last · calf · tube · patient · mug

  1. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. Have you settled on a ________________?
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  22. Where did you ________________ them?
  23. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. last — finally
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. last — to go on
  7. last — final
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. tube — the underground
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. mug — a face
  14. chair — a leader
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. tube — a container
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. mug — a cup
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. calf — of the leg
  22. mug — to rob
  23. date — the fruit
  24. date — on the calendar

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