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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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  8. Have you settled on a ________________?
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  14. When was this ________________ built?
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. current — of water
  4. wax — to grow
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. snap — to click
  7. temple — side of the head
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. date — the fruit
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. current — happening now
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. pound — a weight
  16. shower — rain
  17. bass — the fish
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. bass — low music
  20. shower — to wash
  21. current — electric
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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