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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 · season · band · mine · patient · content · shower · mate

  1. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. mate — a partner
  3. season — in sport
  4. content — happy
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. band — a ring
  8. wax — to grow
  9. season — of the year
  10. shower — rain
  11. mate — to breed
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. shower — to wash
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. mate — a friend
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. band — a music group
  24. mine — for digging

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