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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: face · perch · pop · deal · wax · temple · content · band

  1. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. When was this ________________ built?
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. temple — side of the head
  5. pop — to visit
  6. face — to confront
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. content — the amount
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. pop — music
  12. pop — soda
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. deal — to handle
  15. wax — to grow
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. content — happy
  18. face — to point toward
  19. band — a music group
  20. deal — an agreement
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. face — part of the head
  23. band — a ring
  24. perch — the fish

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