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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 museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. My father caught me by the ________________.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. face — to point toward
  3. land — a country
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. lean — to bend
  7. bore — to drill
  8. land — to come down
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. bore — to tire
  11. lean — thin
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. wax — to grow
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. face — part of the head
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. cell — in biology
  22. land — ground
  23. face — to confront
  24. cell — a phone

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