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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. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. wax — to grow
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. swing — to play on
  6. face — part of the head
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. mark — a trace
  9. swing — music
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. snap — to click
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. drill — army training
  14. drill — the tool
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. field — for sport
  17. swing — in golf
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. field — a subject
  21. face — to confront
  22. mark — a grade
  23. drill — a practice
  24. field — farmland

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