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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. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  6. When was this ________________ built?
  7. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. club — for golf
  3. field — a subject
  4. wind — moving air
  5. root — the cause
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. temple — side of the head
  8. root — of a plant
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. wax — to grow
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. face — to point toward
  13. band — a ring
  14. wind — moving air
  15. field — for sport
  16. club — for dancing
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. root — of a word
  19. band — a music group
  20. face — part of the head
  21. club — a group
  22. field — farmland
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. wax — in the ear

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