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

Word bank: wax · temple · kid · swing · squash · ground

  1. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. When was this ________________ built?
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. swing — in golf
  4. ground — a position
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. ground — crushed
  8. squash — the sport
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. ground — the earth
  11. kid — to tease
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. kid — child
  14. swing — to play on
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. squash — to crush
  17. swing — music
  18. temple — side of the head

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