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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. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. shower — to wash
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. fall — to drop
  5. race — a contest
  6. game — a match
  7. deal — a big deal
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. face — part of the head
  10. fall — the season
  11. wax — to grow
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. craft — boats
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. shower — rain
  16. game — wild animals
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. race — humankind
  20. fall — to drop
  21. craft — a skill
  22. deal — to handle
  23. face — to point toward
  24. race — the arms race

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