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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. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  19. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. file — a line of people
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. hand — in cards
  6. kid — to tease
  7. kid — child
  8. cell — a phone
  9. face — to confront
  10. file — a document
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. hand — help
  15. file — a tool
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. face — to point toward
  18. nail — on a finger
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. wax — to grow
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. cell — in biology
  24. hide — to keep secret

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