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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. When was this ________________ built?
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. The ________________ took off on time.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — side of the head
  2. rash — hasty
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. file — a tool
  5. rash — a series
  6. spell — magic
  7. spell — letters
  8. file — a line of people
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. spell — a short time
  13. plane — an aircraft
  14. plane — a tool
  15. sharp — clever
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. branch — a division
  19. wax — to grow
  20. file — a document
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. temple — a place of worship

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