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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: ball · straw · temple · toast · swing · racket · date · wax

  1. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  15. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  16. Have you settled on a ________________?
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. When was this ________________ built?
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. swing — music
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. date — the fruit
  8. swing — in golf
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. wax — to grow
  11. toast — the most admired
  12. ball — a dance
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. toast — bread
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. toast — a drink to someone
  20. swing — to play on
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. temple — side of the head
  24. date — on the calendar

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