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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 124 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. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. wake — a trail
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. wax — to grow
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. fall — to drop
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. capital — money
  10. capital — a city
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. field — a subject
  13. fall — to drop
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. field — for sport
  16. shower — rain
  17. shower — to wash
  18. face — to confront
  19. fall — the season
  20. face — to point toward
  21. hide — animal skin
  22. face — part of the head
  23. field — farmland
  24. wake — before a funeral

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