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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.

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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. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. When was this ________________ built?
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — side of the head
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. drill — the tool
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. kick — in football
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. chest — a box
  9. wax — to grow
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. bark — to shout
  12. wind — moving air
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. wind — moving air
  16. chest — of your body
  17. chair — a leader
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. chest — of your body
  22. drill — army training
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. drill — a practice

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