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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: cell · craft · court · temple · lean · wax · bass · tear

  1. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. When was this ________________ built?
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. temple — side of the head
  3. craft — a skill
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. court — of law
  7. court — for sport
  8. tear — to rip
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. craft — boats
  11. lean — to bend
  12. bass — the fish
  13. cell — a phone
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. lean — thin
  16. tear — from crying
  17. cell — in biology
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. tear — from crying
  20. bass — low music
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. court — of a king
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. 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