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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. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. foot — the bottom
  3. face — part of the head
  4. chair — a leader
  5. cold — not warm
  6. foot — a measure
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. vault — a safe
  12. wind — moving air
  13. ball — a dance
  14. cold — an illness
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. face — to point toward
  17. vault — an arched ceiling
  18. ball — a great time
  19. wind — moving air
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. foot — part of the body
  23. wax — to grow
  24. vault — in gymnastics

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