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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's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. face — to confront
  5. face — to point toward
  6. wound — an injury
  7. wax — to grow
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. face — part of the head
  10. foot — part of the body
  11. scale — in music
  12. mine — for digging
  13. pitch — completely
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. tear — from crying
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. foot — a measure
  18. tear — to rip
  19. foot — the bottom
  20. wound — an injury
  21. scale — size or range
  22. tear — from crying
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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