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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: wind · date · bay · racket · temple · bark · wax · deal

  1. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. My mare is ________________ in color.
  9. When was this ________________ built?
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  16. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  23. Have you settled on a ________________?
  24. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. bay — to keep at bay
  4. bark — to shout
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. wind — moving air
  8. bay — a horse colour
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. wind — moving air
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. date — the fruit
  16. temple — side of the head
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. bay — a part of the sea
  19. wax — to grow
  20. deal — a big deal
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. deal — to handle

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