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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a round shape
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. swing — music
  4. last — to go on
  5. ball — a dance
  6. face — part of the head
  7. ball — a great time
  8. last — finally
  9. face — to point toward
  10. face — to confront
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. swing — in golf
  13. stem — to come from
  14. swing — to play on
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. last — final
  18. 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