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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: temple · spring · content · snap · wax · bat · field · racket

  1. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. When was this ________________ built?
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. wax — to grow
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. content — the amount
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. temple — side of the head
  8. content — happy
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. field — farmland
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. field — a subject
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. spring — a coil
  18. snap — to click
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. spring — of water
  22. spring — the season
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. field — for sport

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