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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: temple · plane · deal · kid · straw · file · coach · wax

  1. When was this ________________ built?
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. kid — child
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. deal — an agreement
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. temple — side of the head
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. file — a tool
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. kid — to tease
  15. deal — to handle
  16. wax — to grow
  17. plane — a tool
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. deal — a big deal
  23. file — a document
  24. file — a line of people

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