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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  4. When was this ________________ built?
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  9. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  15. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  19. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. wave — a sudden rise
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. march — music
  7. shower — to wash
  8. temple — side of the head
  9. fine — high quality
  10. march — the month
  11. march — the month
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. fine — all right
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. shower — rain
  17. bat — the animal
  18. wave — of the sea
  19. wave — with your hand
  20. mine — for digging
  21. wax — to grow
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. bat — for baseball

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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