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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 120 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: kick · nail · temple · land · wave · row · wax · cell

  1. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  2. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. When was this ________________ built?
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — side of the head
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. cell — a phone
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. wave — of the sea
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. land — ground
  12. land — to come down
  13. kick — in football
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. wax — to grow
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. row — to paddle
  19. cell — in biology
  20. land — a country
  21. row — a line
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. kick — a thrill

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