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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 116 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. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  22. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. leaves — lets stay
  3. file — a tool
  4. leaves — to go away
  5. mate — a friend
  6. lean — to bend
  7. lie — to recline
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. mate — to breed
  10. face — to point toward
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. file — a line of people
  13. lean — thin
  14. wax — to grow
  15. net — for catching
  16. mate — a partner
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. face — part of the head
  19. file — a document
  20. net — in sport
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. net — after costs

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