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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. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. cap — of ice
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. swing — music
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. swing — in golf
  7. cap — a lid
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. tear — from crying
  11. cap — a hat
  12. face — part of the head
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. swing — to play on
  15. stem — to come from
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. tear — to rip
  19. tear — from crying
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. wax — to grow
  22. wake — a trail
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. face — to point toward

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