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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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  22. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. land — to come down
  3. face — to point toward
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. band — a music group
  7. wax — to grow
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. band — a ring
  10. shower — to wash
  11. foot — a measure
  12. face — to confront
  13. land — ground
  14. face — part of the head
  15. bound — obliged
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. bound — tied together
  18. bound — certain
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. foot — part of the body
  22. foot — the bottom
  23. shower — rain
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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