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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 120 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.

Words on the sheet
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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: kick · ball · wake · ground · wax · patient · field · snap

  1. The King held a masked ________________.
  2. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. ball — a round shape
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. field — for sport
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. wax — to grow
  7. snap — to click
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. kick — in football
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. field — a subject
  12. ground — crushed
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. ground — a position
  17. field — farmland
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. ground — the earth
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. wake — a trail
  23. ball — a great time
  24. wax — for sculpting

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