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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · rash · wound · foot · hand · wax · date · wind

  1. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  4. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  24. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — a measure
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. date — the fruit
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. wind — moving air
  7. rash — hasty
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. wound — an injury
  12. wound — an injury
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. wind — moving air
  15. hand — in cards
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. rash — a series
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. wax — to grow
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. hand — help
  23. foot — part of the body
  24. foot — the bottom

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