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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: chest · wax · temple · degree · drill · race

  1. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. When was this ________________ built?

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

Answer key

  1. drill — a practice
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. degree — temperature
  4. drill — the tool
  5. temple — side of the head
  6. race — humankind
  7. wax — to grow
  8. chest — of your body
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. degree — from a university
  11. degree — an amount
  12. drill — army training
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. chest — of your body
  15. race — the arms race
  16. chest — a box
  17. race — a contest
  18. 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