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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 · date · degree · racket · band · patient · fork · bore

  1. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  16. Have you settled on a ________________?
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. bore — to tire
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. fork — in a road
  7. bore — to drill
  8. band — a music group
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. date — the fruit
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. degree — an amount
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. degree — temperature
  18. wax — to grow
  19. degree — from a university
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. band — a rubber band

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