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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. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. wax — to grow
  3. drill — army training
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. drill — a practice
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. face — to point toward
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. face — part of the head
  10. face — to confront
  11. shower — to wash
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. field — a subject
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. drill — the tool
  17. branch — a division
  18. shower — rain
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. wake — a trail
  22. field — farmland
  23. field — for sport
  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