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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. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. face — to point toward
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. land — a country
  7. last — finally
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. rest — a break
  10. rest — what's left
  11. last — to go on
  12. wax — to grow
  13. rest — what's left
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. face — to confront
  16. race — humankind
  17. race — the arms race
  18. race — a contest
  19. land — to come down
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. land — ground
  22. fork — in a road
  23. kick — in football
  24. last — final

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