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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. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. When was this ________________ built?
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. temple — side of the head
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. scale — in music
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. wax — to grow
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. root — of a plant
  12. degree — an amount
  13. scale — size or range
  14. lash — to lash out
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. degree — temperature
  17. face — part of the head
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. root — of a word
  20. degree — from a university
  21. face — to point toward
  22. face — to confront
  23. root — the cause
  24. wax — in the ear

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