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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. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. face — to point toward
  4. hand — help
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. cold — an illness
  7. board — a committee
  8. board — to get on
  9. ball — a great time
  10. rest — a break
  11. face — to confront
  12. ball — a dance
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. face — part of the head
  15. board — a flat piece
  16. present — the time now
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. rest — what's left
  19. present — there
  20. cold — not warm
  21. rest — what's left
  22. present — a gift
  23. wax — to grow
  24. hand — in cards

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