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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: cell · mark · land · wax · spring · date · net · fine

  1. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. Have you settled on a ________________?
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. land — to come down
  3. spring — a coil
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. wax — to grow
  6. land — a country
  7. fine — high quality
  8. net — in sport
  9. spring — of water
  10. cell — a phone
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. cell — in biology
  13. land — ground
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. date — the fruit
  16. mark — a trace
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. net — after costs
  19. mark — a grade
  20. fine — all right
  21. spring — the season
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. cell — in a prison

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