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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. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  5. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. leaves — lets stay
  3. wind — moving air
  4. wave — a sudden rise
  5. leaves — to go away
  6. shower — to wash
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. land — a country
  11. shower — rain
  12. land — to come down
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. land — ground
  18. face — part of the head
  19. wave — with your hand
  20. face — to point toward
  21. wax — to grow
  22. wave — of the sea
  23. wind — moving air
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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