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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 · face · ground · hand · wave · date · calf · scale

  1. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  19. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. scale — in music
  3. face — to point toward
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. hand — in cards
  6. scale — size or range
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. date — the fruit
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. ground — the earth
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. hand — help
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. ground — crushed
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. wave — a sudden rise
  19. wave — of the sea
  20. ground — a position
  21. face — to confront
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. face — part of the head

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