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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. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. Recycle the empty soda ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. cold — not warm
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. cold — an illness
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. can — to be able to
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. spell — a short time
  12. spell — magic
  13. can — a tin
  14. present — there
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. bowl — to roll
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. wax — to grow
  19. present — a gift
  20. present — the time now
  21. face — part of the head
  22. spell — letters
  23. face — to confront
  24. can — a tin

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