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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. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. face — to confront
  3. cap — a hat
  4. clip — a video
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. clip — to cut
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. face — part of the head
  9. face — to point toward
  10. lean — to bend
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. present — the time now
  14. present — there
  15. cap — of ice
  16. pass — to spend time
  17. cap — a lid
  18. clip — for paper
  19. present — a gift
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. wax — to grow
  22. pass — a permit
  23. lean — thin
  24. pass — to succeed

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