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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. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. face — to confront
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. wax — to grow
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. bear — the animal
  11. bear — the animal
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. hand — in cards
  16. date — the fruit
  17. band — a music group
  18. hand — help
  19. face — part of the head
  20. face — to point toward
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. bear — to put up with
  23. mine — for digging
  24. band — a ring

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