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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. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. face — to confront
  3. land — to come down
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. craft — a skill
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. scale — in music
  8. club — for golf
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. face — part of the head
  11. land — a country
  12. land — ground
  13. face — to point toward
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. club — a group
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. craft — boats
  19. wax — to grow
  20. cell — in biology
  21. club — for dancing
  22. craft — a handicraft
  23. cell — a phone
  24. mine — for digging

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