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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. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. face — to confront
  3. spell — a short time
  4. root — the cause
  5. foot — a measure
  6. spell — magic
  7. foot — the bottom
  8. face — part of the head
  9. foot — part of the body
  10. bass — the fish
  11. field — farmland
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. root — of a plant
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. spell — letters
  16. field — for sport
  17. bass — low music
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. root — of a word
  20. kick — in football
  21. field — a subject
  22. face — to point toward
  23. wax — to grow
  24. kick — with a leg

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