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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. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. court — of a king
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. scale — in music
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. root — of a plant
  7. scale — size or range
  8. court — for sport
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. face — part of the head
  11. wax — to grow
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. season — in sport
  14. wind — moving air
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. root — of a word
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. court — of law
  19. root — the cause
  20. face — to point toward
  21. wind — moving air
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. hide — animal skin
  24. season — of the year

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