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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: wax · temple · current · race · kick · chest · band · field

  1. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. When was this ________________ built?
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. band — a ring
  3. field — for sport
  4. temple — side of the head
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. chest — of your body
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. race — the arms race
  9. current — happening now
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. kick — in football
  12. field — a subject
  13. current — electric
  14. race — humankind
  15. race — a contest
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. current — of water
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. chest — a box
  20. chest — of your body
  21. band — a music group
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. field — farmland
  24. wax — to grow

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