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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  24. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. wax — to grow
  3. face — part of the head
  4. chest — a box
  5. chest — of your body
  6. chest — of your body
  7. race — humankind
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. cell — in biology
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. cell — a phone
  15. spell — letters
  16. rock — a stone
  17. race — a contest
  18. race — the arms race
  19. spell — a short time
  20. spell — magic
  21. face — to point toward
  22. face — to confront
  23. rush — hurry
  24. rock — to move gently

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