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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. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  5. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  6. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. The light ________________ burned out.
  12. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  15. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. I've got to change the light ________________.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. We're on a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. jam — to spread on bread
  3. face — to point toward
  4. roll — a cake
  5. jam — a tight spot
  6. foot — part of the body
  7. face — to confront
  8. face — part of the head
  9. foot — the bottom
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. bulb — for light
  12. jam — in traffic
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. foot — a measure
  15. roll — a list
  16. branch — a division
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. bulb — for light
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. bulb — of a plant
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. roll — on a roll

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