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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: cap · temple · land · wax · lash · jam · rest · wake

  1. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  9. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. When was this ________________ built?
  12. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. land — ground
  3. cap — a lid
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. jam — to spread on bread
  7. wax — to grow
  8. lash — a whip stroke
  9. jam — a tight spot
  10. land — a country
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. jam — in traffic
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. land — to come down
  16. rest — a break
  17. cap — of ice
  18. wake — a trail
  19. temple — side of the head
  20. cap — a hat
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. rest — what's left
  24. rest — what's left

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