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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 · track · cap · kid · wax · plane · file · wound

  1. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. When was this ________________ built?
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. file — a line of people
  3. plane — in geometry
  4. wax — to grow
  5. track — a song
  6. track — to keep track
  7. kid — to tease
  8. cap — of ice
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. cap — a lid
  12. wound — an injury
  13. wound — an injury
  14. kid — child
  15. file — a tool
  16. cap — a hat
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. plane — a tool
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. track — a path
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. file — a document
  24. temple — side of the head

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