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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. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. When was this ________________ built?
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  13. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  18. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — a measure
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. foot — the bottom
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. branch — a division
  9. wound — an injury
  10. wound — an injury
  11. band — a music group
  12. foot — part of the body
  13. lash — an eyelash
  14. band — a ring
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. lash — to lash out
  18. temple — side of the head
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. lash — a whip stroke
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. wax — to grow
  24. pitcher — a jug

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