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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. file — a tool
  4. file — a line of people
  5. face — part of the head
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. foot — the bottom
  10. face — to point toward
  11. object — to protest
  12. wax — to grow
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. face — to confront
  15. foot — part of the body
  16. file — a document
  17. object — an aim
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. mark — a grade
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. object — a thing
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. foot — a measure
  24. mark — a trace

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