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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: wax · toast · bark · cold · date · wave · present · field

  1. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. Have you settled on a ________________?
  4. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  5. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  21. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  24. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. field — for sport
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. toast — the most admired
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. cold — an illness
  8. present — the time now
  9. field — a subject
  10. date — the fruit
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. wax — to grow
  13. field — farmland
  14. wave — a sudden rise
  15. cold — not warm
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. present — there
  19. bark — to shout
  20. toast — bread
  21. toast — a drink to someone
  22. present — a gift
  23. wave — with your hand
  24. wave — of the sea

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