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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. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. chest — of your body
  4. club — for golf
  5. chest — a box
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. club — a group
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. squash — to crush
  11. chest — of your body
  12. club — for dancing
  13. face — to point toward
  14. face — part of the head
  15. squash — the sport
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. calf — of the leg
  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