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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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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: pit · wound · temple · chest · wake · squash · wax · court

  1. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. When was this ________________ built?
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. court — of a king
  6. court — for sport
  7. chest — of your body
  8. temple — side of the head
  9. pit — a hole
  10. squash — to crush
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. pit — in a race
  14. wound — an injury
  15. chest — a box
  16. squash — the sport
  17. chest — of your body
  18. wound — an injury
  19. wake — a trail
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. court — of law
  24. wax — to grow

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