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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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. Have you settled on a ________________?
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  14. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. present — there
  3. face — to confront
  4. face — to point toward
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. face — part of the head
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. date — the fruit
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. foot — part of the body
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. foot — the bottom
  14. foot — a measure
  15. file — a document
  16. file — a line of people
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. present — the time now
  20. file — a tool
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. wax — to grow
  24. trunk — of a car

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