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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 120 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. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. face — to confront
  3. wax — to grow
  4. spring — a coil
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. spring — the season
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. cell — in biology
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. face — to point toward
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. field — farmland
  16. mouse — for a computer
  17. wake — a trail
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. cell — a phone
  20. spring — of water
  21. field — a subject
  22. mine — for digging
  23. field — for sport
  24. mouse — the animal

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