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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 museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. The tickets are free of ________________.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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. charge — in control
  5. face — to point toward
  6. bat — the animal
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. charge — electricity
  9. spring — of water
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. season — in sport
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. track — a song
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. spring — the season
  19. charge — a price
  20. wax — to grow
  21. track — a path
  22. season — of the year
  23. track — to keep track
  24. spring — a coil

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