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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: face · prune · club · suit · temple · wax · last · wind

  1. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. When was this ________________ built?
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  22. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. When will it ________________ you to start?

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. wind — moving air
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. wind — moving air
  5. face — part of the head
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. wax — to grow
  8. suit — clothes
  9. club — for golf
  10. last — final
  11. prune — to trim
  12. face — to point toward
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. prune — to trim
  16. club — a group
  17. face — to confront
  18. last — finally
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. suit — in cards
  22. temple — side of the head
  23. last — to go on
  24. suit — to fit

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