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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. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. We're on a ________________ here.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  7. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  12. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  23. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  24. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. face — part of the head
  4. roll — on a roll
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. cue — a hint
  7. jam — a tight spot
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. swing — to play on
  11. jam — to spread on bread
  12. roll — a cake
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. swing — music
  15. wax — to grow
  16. swing — in golf
  17. face — to point toward
  18. cue — for pool
  19. bat — the animal
  20. cue — a signal
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. bowl — to roll
  23. roll — a list
  24. jam — in traffic

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