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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. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  11. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  22. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  23. When will it ________________ you to start?
  24. Tom got himself in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. suit — in cards
  4. row — a line
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. band — a ring
  7. cold — not warm
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. wax — to grow
  10. jam — to spread on bread
  11. suit — clothes
  12. face — to confront
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. face — to point toward
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. cold — an illness
  17. band — a music group
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. face — part of the head
  20. row — to paddle
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. jam — in traffic
  23. suit — to fit
  24. jam — a tight spot

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