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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. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  12. The tickets are free of ________________.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. charge — electricity
  3. ball — a great time
  4. face — to confront
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. dip — to sink
  9. shower — to wash
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. charge — in control
  12. charge — a price
  13. degree — temperature
  14. degree — from a university
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. degree — an amount
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. ball — a dance
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. face — part of the head
  23. face — to point toward
  24. shower — rain

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