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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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. bat — the animal
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. can — a tin
  5. wax — to grow
  6. face — part of the head
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. can — a tin
  10. shower — rain
  11. face — to point toward
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. can — to be able to
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. tube — the underground
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. shower — to wash
  18. face — to confront
  19. chair — a leader
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. leaves — to go away
  22. tube — a container
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. leaves — of a tree

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