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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: chip · last · mine · hand · temple · season · wax · deal

  1. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  14. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. When was this ________________ built?
  24. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. chip — for betting
  3. hand — help
  4. last — to go on
  5. hand — in cards
  6. chip — in a computer
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. wax — to grow
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. season — of the year
  12. last — finally
  13. chip — to eat
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. temple — side of the head
  18. season — in sport
  19. last — final
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. deal — a big deal
  22. deal — to handle
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. deal — an agreement

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