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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. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  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. wax — for sculpting
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. ball — a dance
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. hand — in cards
  7. face — part of the head
  8. rest — a break
  9. face — to confront
  10. hand — help
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. net — for catching
  13. net — in sport
  14. rest — what's left
  15. leaves — to go away
  16. wax — to grow
  17. face — to point toward
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. saw — the tool
  20. rest — what's left
  21. saw — the tool
  22. ball — a great time
  23. leaves — of a tree
  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