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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. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. face — to confront
  3. wound — an injury
  4. wax — to grow
  5. face — to point toward
  6. wound — an injury
  7. tube — the underground
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. shower — to wash
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. cell — a phone
  12. lean — to bend
  13. shower — rain
  14. face — part of the head
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. tube — a container
  17. cell — in biology
  18. lean — thin
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. date — the fruit
  24. date — on the calendar

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