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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. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. The ________________ took off on time.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. My father caught me by the ________________.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. rush — hurry
  3. face — to confront
  4. row — a line
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. plane — an aircraft
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. hand — help
  9. bulb — of a plant
  10. bulb — for light
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. row — to paddle
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. hand — in cards
  20. plane — a tool
  21. face — to point toward
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. bulb — for light
  24. face — part of the head

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