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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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. staff — employees
  3. last — finally
  4. last — to go on
  5. kid — child
  6. root — of a plant
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. root — of a word
  10. face — to confront
  11. lie — to recline
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. face — to point toward
  14. root — the cause
  15. staff — a stick
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. staff — employees
  19. last — final
  20. wax — to grow
  21. face — part of the head
  22. kid — to tease
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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