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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. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  7. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. face — to point toward
  3. face — part of the head
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. cell — in biology
  6. wave — with your hand
  7. wave — of the sea
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. chest — a box
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. chest — of your body
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. cold — not warm
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. cell — a phone
  16. cold — an illness
  17. net — for catching
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. face — to confront
  20. wave — a sudden rise
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. wax — to grow
  23. net — in sport
  24. chest — of your body

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