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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: wind · track · date · wax · chest · temple · file · wound

  1. When was this ________________ built?
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. track — a song
  3. date — the fruit
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. chest — of your body
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. wind — moving air
  9. wind — moving air
  10. wax — to grow
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. track — a path
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. file — a tool
  16. file — a line of people
  17. wound — an injury
  18. chest — of your body
  19. track — to keep track
  20. temple — side of the head
  21. chest — a box
  22. wound — an injury
  23. file — a document
  24. wind — to turn a key

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