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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 muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. track — a song
  3. bound — certain
  4. cap — a lid
  5. cap — a hat
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. wax — to grow
  10. face — to confront
  11. face — part of the head
  12. face — to point toward
  13. last — final
  14. bound — obliged
  15. last — to go on
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. cap — of ice
  19. last — finally
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. track — to keep track
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. bound — tied together
  24. trunk — of a car

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