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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. When will it ________________ you to start?
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. When was this ________________ built?
  13. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. rest — what's left
  3. wax — to grow
  4. fall — to drop
  5. fall — the season
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. rest — a break
  8. suit — in cards
  9. rest — what's left
  10. suit — to fit
  11. tear — from crying
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. suit — clothes
  14. tear — to rip
  15. tear — from crying
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. fall — to drop
  18. temple — side of the head

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