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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. When was this ________________ built?
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. net — after costs
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. court — of law
  9. net — for catching
  10. branch — a division
  11. temple — side of the head
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. court — of a king
  14. chest — a box
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. chest — of your body
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. saw — the tool
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. court — for sport
  21. wax — to grow
  22. chest — of your body
  23. net — in sport
  24. saw — the tool

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