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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. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. scale — in music
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. ball — a dance
  5. face — to point toward
  6. saw — the tool
  7. march — the month
  8. ball — a great time
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. wax — to grow
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. saw — the tool
  13. march — the month
  14. face — part of the head
  15. face — to confront
  16. march — music
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. hand — help
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. hand — in cards

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