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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: key · deal · bowl · wax · temple · track · root · object

  1. This piece is in a major ________________.
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. When was this ________________ built?
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  24. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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

Answer key

  1. key — in music
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. object — a thing
  5. key — for a lock
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. key — the most important part
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. track — a song
  10. object — an aim
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. wax — to grow
  15. temple — side of the head
  16. root — of a word
  17. track — a path
  18. object — to protest
  19. root — of a plant
  20. track — to keep track
  21. deal — an agreement
  22. root — the cause
  23. deal — a big deal
  24. deal — to handle

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