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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: rock · net · land · mark · mine · date · track · wax

  1. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  22. Have you settled on a ________________?
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. net — for catching
  3. wax — to grow
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. land — ground
  6. mark — a grade
  7. land — to come down
  8. rock — to move gently
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. date — the fruit
  11. track — a song
  12. mark — a trace
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. track — a path
  15. net — in sport
  16. rock — a stone
  17. track — to keep track
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. net — after costs
  21. rock — music
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. mine — for digging

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