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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. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  20. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. branch — a division
  3. last — final
  4. cap — of ice
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. face — part of the head
  9. wake — a trail
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. cap — a hat
  14. face — to confront
  15. wax — to grow
  16. last — finally
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. last — to go on
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. cabinet — a cupboard
  21. bat — the animal
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. cap — a lid
  24. wax — for sculpting

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