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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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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: cell · temple · wind · dip · chest · wax

  1. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  4. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. When was this ________________ built?

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. chest — of your body
  3. dip — to sink
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. wind — moving air
  7. wind — moving air
  8. temple — side of the head
  9. chest — a box
  10. wax — to grow
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. cell — in biology
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. chest — of your body
  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