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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 116 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. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. squash — to crush
  3. wind — moving air
  4. wax — to grow
  5. track — a song
  6. track — a path
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. wind — moving air
  11. swing — to play on
  12. squash — the sport
  13. face — to confront
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. capital — money
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. capital — a city
  19. lash — a whip stroke
  20. swing — in golf
  21. track — to keep track
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. face — to point toward
  24. swing — music

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