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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. rest — what's left
  4. face — part of the head
  5. face — to point toward
  6. ground — the earth
  7. branch — a division
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. land — ground
  10. ground — a position
  11. kid — to tease
  12. track — to keep track
  13. wax — to grow
  14. ground — crushed
  15. land — to come down
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. land — a country
  18. track — a song
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. rest — a break
  21. face — to confront
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. track — a path
  24. rest — what's left

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