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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 ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. face — to point toward
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. wound — an injury
  5. fall — the season
  6. fall — to drop
  7. wound — an injury
  8. face — to confront
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. rock — a stone
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. bass — low music
  14. face — part of the head
  15. perch — the fish
  16. bass — the fish
  17. rock — to move gently
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. rock — music
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. wax — to grow
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. fall — to drop

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