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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. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  14. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. pass — to succeed
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. wax — to grow
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. face — part of the head
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. shower — to wash
  13. pass — a permit
  14. pass — to spend time
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. shower — rain
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. face — to point toward
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. lash — a whip stroke
  24. wake — a trail

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