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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. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. What do you think of the new ________________?
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. cabinet — a cupboard
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. ground — crushed
  5. wax — to grow
  6. face — to point toward
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. ground — a position
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. shower — rain
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. pound — a weight
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. ground — the earth
  17. face — part of the head
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. shower — to wash
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. fan — a supporter

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