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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. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. face — to confront
  3. drill — the tool
  4. field — for sport
  5. wax — to grow
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. kick — in football
  9. object — to protest
  10. object — a thing
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. drill — army training
  13. field — a subject
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. cap — a hat
  16. object — an aim
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. cap — a lid
  19. cap — of ice
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. drill — a practice
  22. face — part of the head
  23. field — farmland
  24. face — to point toward

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