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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: bank · face · bat · temple · pound · wave · chest · wax

  1. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  12. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  13. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. When was this ________________ built?
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. chest — of your body
  3. face — to point toward
  4. face — part of the head
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. bank — for money
  9. chest — of your body
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. wave — a sudden rise
  12. temple — side of the head
  13. bank — of a river
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. bat — the animal
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. face — to confront
  20. pound — a weight
  21. chest — a box
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. wax — to grow
  24. bat — for baseball

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