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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. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. club — for dancing
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. shower — to wash
  5. shower — rain
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. club — a group
  10. fine — all right
  11. face — part of the head
  12. season — of the year
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. season — in sport
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. fine — high quality
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. wax — to grow
  20. face — to point toward
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. club — for golf

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