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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: last · wind · saw · press · bound · wax · temple · kid

  1. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  11. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. When was this ________________ built?
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. bound — obliged
  4. kid — child
  5. last — final
  6. bound — tied together
  7. kid — to tease
  8. wind — moving air
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. temple — side of the head
  12. last — to go on
  13. wind — moving air
  14. saw — the tool
  15. saw — the tool
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. press — newspapers
  18. press — a publisher
  19. press — to push
  20. bound — certain
  21. wax — to grow
  22. last — finally
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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