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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. kid — child
  3. ruler — for measuring
  4. face — to point toward
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. wind — moving air
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. kid — to tease
  9. foot — the bottom
  10. craft — a skill
  11. bat — the animal
  12. ruler — a monarch
  13. wax — to grow
  14. foot — part of the body
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. foot — a measure
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. face — part of the head
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. wind — moving air
  24. craft — boats

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