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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 116 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. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  8. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  9. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. cold — not warm
  5. face — to confront
  6. cell — a phone
  7. deal — a big deal
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. mouse — for a computer
  10. wax — to grow
  11. face — part of the head
  12. cell — in biology
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. cold — an illness
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. deal — to handle

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