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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: temple · cell · wax · stick · pop · swing · perch · snap

  1. When was this ________________ built?
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  20. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. cell — a phone
  4. pop — soda
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. snap — to click
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. cell — in biology
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. perch — the fish
  11. pop — music
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. swing — to play on
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. pop — to visit
  16. swing — in golf
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. temple — side of the head
  21. wax — to grow
  22. swing — music
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. cell — in a prison

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