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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 museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. The ________________ went through the wall.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. chest — of your body
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. ruler — a monarch
  5. face — to point toward
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. bat — the animal
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. wake — a trail
  10. object — to protest
  11. chest — a box
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. wax — to grow
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. face — to confront
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. object — a thing
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. object — an aim
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. chest — of your body
  23. face — part of the head
  24. wax — in the ear

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