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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. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. face — part of the head
  4. wax — to grow
  5. saw — the tool
  6. craft — a skill
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. race — the arms race
  10. march — the month
  11. face — to point toward
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. craft — boats
  14. bark — to shout
  15. face — to confront
  16. snap — to click
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. race — a contest
  19. march — the month
  20. march — music
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. saw — the tool
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. race — humankind

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