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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. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  7. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. My mare is ________________ in color.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  24. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. face — part of the head
  4. bay — a part of the sea
  5. cell — in biology
  6. can — a tin
  7. bay — to keep at bay
  8. season — in sport
  9. bay — a horse colour
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. can — to be able to
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. season — of the year
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. kick — in football
  17. wax — to grow
  18. face — to point toward
  19. cell — a phone
  20. cold — an illness
  21. cold — not warm
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. can — a tin
  24. face — to confront

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