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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.

Make a worksheet

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 museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. mine — for digging
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. staff — employees
  5. face — to confront
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. pop — soda
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. wax — to grow
  10. spell — magic
  11. pop — music
  12. face — part of the head
  13. spell — a short time
  14. staff — employees
  15. pop — to visit
  16. staff — a stick
  17. face — to point toward
  18. spell — letters

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