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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. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. face — to point toward
  3. march — the month
  4. shower — rain
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. face — to confront
  9. chair — a leader
  10. wax — to grow
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. march — music
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. march — the month
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. wake — a trail
  22. kick — in football
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. shower — to wash

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