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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: spring · net · hand · bore · pitcher · temple · wax · last

  1. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  2. When was this ________________ built?
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to drill
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. spring — the season
  4. last — to go on
  5. temple — side of the head
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. bore — to tire
  9. hand — in cards
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. net — for catching
  13. net — in sport
  14. spring — a coil
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. last — final
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. net — after costs
  20. wax — to grow
  21. spring — of water
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. last — finally
  24. hand — help

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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