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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: roll · face · patient · ground · chest · field · wax · date

  1. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. We're on a ________________ here.
  12. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. date — the fruit
  3. field — farmland
  4. wax — to grow
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. field — a subject
  7. chest — of your body
  8. chest — of your body
  9. ground — crushed
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. roll — on a roll
  12. roll — a cake
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. ground — the earth
  15. face — to point toward
  16. face — part of the head
  17. face — to confront
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. chest — a box
  20. roll — a list
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. ground — a position
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. field — for sport

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