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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. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. face — to point toward
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. face — part of the head
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. dip — to sink
  9. board — a flat piece
  10. cell — a phone
  11. board — to get on
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. cold — not warm
  14. cold — an illness
  15. band — a ring
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. band — a music group
  18. cabinet — a cupboard
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. board — a committee
  22. cell — in biology
  23. wax — to grow
  24. cell — in a prison

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