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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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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: kid · staff · spring · cap · dip · chip · temple · wax

  1. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  4. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. When was this ________________ built?

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. wax — to grow
  3. staff — employees
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. staff — a stick
  6. temple — side of the head
  7. cap — of ice
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. kid — child
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. chip — in a computer
  12. kid — to tease
  13. dip — to sink
  14. spring — of water
  15. chip — for betting
  16. staff — employees
  17. cap — a hat
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. spring — a coil
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. cap — a lid
  22. chip — to eat
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. temple — a place of worship

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