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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: kid · branch · straw · chair · wax · bay · last · temple

  1. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  12. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. My mare is ________________ in color.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. When was this ________________ built?
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. last — to go on
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. bay — to keep at bay
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. last — final
  7. bay — a part of the sea
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. chair — a leader
  10. branch — a division
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. temple — side of the head
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. kid — to tease
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. bay — a horse colour
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. last — finally
  24. kid — child

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