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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: swing · chest · ball · temple · land · wax · mark · perch

  1. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  9. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  10. When was this ________________ built?
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a round shape
  2. perch — the fish
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. chest — of your body
  6. wax — to grow
  7. land — to come down
  8. mark — a grade
  9. mark — a trace
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. ball — a dance
  13. chest — a box
  14. temple — side of the head
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. ball — a great time
  17. land — a country
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. land — ground
  20. swing — in golf
  21. chest — of your body
  22. swing — to play on
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. swing — music

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