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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. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. When was this ________________ built?
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. file — a document
  3. land — ground
  4. temple — side of the head
  5. land — to come down
  6. hand — in cards
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. land — a country
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. file — a line of people
  13. pop — music
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. pop — to visit
  17. hand — help
  18. file — a tool
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. band — a music group
  21. pop — soda
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. band — a ring
  24. hand — part of the body

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