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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: march · temple · snap · wax · cabinet · hand · mate · race

  1. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  9. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. What do you think of the new ________________?
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. When was this ________________ built?
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. race — humankind
  3. mate — to breed
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. race — a contest
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. wax — to grow
  8. temple — side of the head
  9. cabinet — a cupboard
  10. snap — to click
  11. march — the month
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. hand — help
  14. hand — in cards
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. race — the arms race
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. march — the month
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. mate — a friend
  22. mate — a partner
  23. march — music
  24. hand — part of the body

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