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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 124 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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. face — to point toward
  4. bat — the animal
  5. plane — a tool
  6. wax — to grow
  7. net — after costs
  8. net — for catching
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. face — part of the head
  17. net — in sport
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. chair — a leader
  20. safe — out of danger
  21. face — to confront
  22. safe — a strongbox
  23. game — wild animals
  24. plane — an aircraft

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