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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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. shower — rain
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. face — to point toward
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. shower — to wash
  10. wax — to grow
  11. land — a country
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. land — ground
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. key — the most important part
  17. land — to come down
  18. mark — a trace
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. key — in music
  21. key — for a lock
  22. mark — a grade
  23. face — part of the head
  24. face — to confront

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