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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 120 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.

Words on the sheet
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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: rush · dip · field · shower · wind · temple · wax · chair

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. When was this ________________ built?
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. field — a subject
  3. temple — side of the head
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. field — farmland
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. rush — hurry
  11. chair — a leader
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. wax — to grow
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. shower — rain
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. wind — moving air
  21. dip — to sink
  22. field — for sport
  23. dip — to dunk
  24. shower — to wash

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