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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. face — part of the head
  3. cold — an illness
  4. face — to confront
  5. face — to point toward
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. bass — the fish
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. prune — to trim
  11. wax — to grow
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. lean — to bend
  14. club — for golf
  15. lean — thin
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. bass — low music
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. cold — not warm
  20. prune — to trim
  21. club — a group
  22. deal — to handle
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. cold — the Cold War

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