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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. When was this ________________ built?
  3. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  17. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. wax — to grow
  7. bank — for money
  8. file — a tool
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. rush — hurry
  11. game — a match
  12. bank — for money
  13. file — a line of people
  14. season — in sport
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. leaves — of a tree
  17. bank — of a river
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. temple — side of the head
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. file — a document
  22. game — wild animals
  23. leaves — to go away
  24. season — of the year

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