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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. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. face — to point toward
  4. drill — army training
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. face — to confront
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. snap — to click
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. drill — the tool
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. drill — a practice
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. wax — to grow
  20. stem — to come from
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. bat — the animal
  23. bark — to shout
  24. plane — a tool

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