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

  1. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. spring — a coil
  3. face — to point toward
  4. wake — a trail
  5. foot — a measure
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. spring — the season
  8. face — part of the head
  9. degree — temperature
  10. wax — to grow
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. foot — part of the body
  13. face — to confront
  14. degree — from a university
  15. degree — an amount
  16. spring — of water
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. foot — the bottom

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