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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: face · arm · wax · prune · last · temple

  1. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  16. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  17. When was this ________________ built?
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. face — part of the head
  4. face — to confront
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. face — to point toward
  7. last — to go on
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. temple — side of the head
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. prune — to trim
  12. last — finally
  13. prune — to trim
  14. last — final
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. arm — a part of something
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. wax — to grow

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