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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: cabinet · charge · field · temple · wax · chest · rest · capital

  1. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. What do you think of the new ________________?
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  9. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  10. The tickets are free of ________________.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. When was this ________________ built?
  13. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. chest — of your body
  4. capital — money
  5. field — a subject
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. charge — in control
  9. temple — side of the head
  10. charge — a price
  11. chest — of your body
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. cabinet — a cupboard
  14. rest — a break
  15. chest — a box
  16. field — for sport
  17. capital — a city
  18. field — farmland
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. rest — what's left
  21. charge — electricity
  22. rest — what's left
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. wax — in the ear

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