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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: temple · bat · wax · deal · object · club · staff · march

  1. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. When was this ________________ built?
  15. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. wax — to grow
  5. march — the month
  6. staff — employees
  7. club — for dancing
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. object — to protest
  11. bat — the animal
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. object — a thing
  16. club — a group
  17. club — for golf
  18. object — an aim
  19. deal — to handle
  20. staff — a stick
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. march — the month
  23. temple — side of the head
  24. march — music

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