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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: cap · rock · rush · temple · wax · march · kid · tear

  1. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. When was this ________________ built?
  3. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. temple — side of the head
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. wax — to grow
  7. kid — child
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. cap — a lid
  10. rock — to move gently
  11. march — the month
  12. rock — music
  13. rush — hurry
  14. tear — from crying
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. rock — a stone
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. cap — a hat
  20. kid — to tease
  21. cap — of ice
  22. tear — from crying
  23. march — music
  24. march — the month

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