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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  23. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. cue — for pool
  4. cold — not warm
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. deal — to handle
  7. band — a music group
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. face — part of the head
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. craft — boats
  12. wax — to grow
  13. march — music
  14. craft — a skill
  15. march — the month
  16. cue — a hint
  17. march — the month
  18. cold — an illness
  19. craft — a handicraft
  20. band — a ring
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. cue — a signal
  23. deal — a big deal
  24. face — to point toward

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