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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. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. My father caught me by the ________________.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. present — the time now
  3. hand — in cards
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. present — there
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. wax — to grow
  8. cap — a lid
  9. face — to confront
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. file — a tool
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. present — a gift
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. pop — soda
  16. hand — help
  17. pop — to visit
  18. pop — music
  19. face — part of the head
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. face — to point toward
  22. file — a document
  23. cap — a hat
  24. file — a line of people

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