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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. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. When was this ________________ built?
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. face — part of the head
  3. face — to confront
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. spring — the season
  6. last — final
  7. saw — the tool
  8. wax — to grow
  9. temple — side of the head
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. spring — of water
  12. face — to point toward
  13. scale — in music
  14. saw — the tool
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. spring — a coil
  17. track — a path
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. last — to go on
  21. last — finally
  22. scale — size or range
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. track — to keep track

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