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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.

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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: temple · fall · mine · pit · lean · wax · content · bass

  1. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  12. When was this ________________ built?
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. mine — for digging
  4. lean — thin
  5. bass — the fish
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. content — the amount
  8. content — happy
  9. lean — to bend
  10. bass — low music
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. fall — to drop
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. pit — a hole
  16. temple — side of the head
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. fall — to drop
  19. pit — in a race
  20. wax — to grow
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. fall — the season
  24. bass — the instrument

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