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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. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  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 — part of the head
  2. race — humankind
  3. face — to confront
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. lean — to bend
  6. lean — thin
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. race — a contest
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. face — to point toward
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. race — the arms race
  14. file — a tool
  15. bound — certain
  16. file — a line of people
  17. bound — obliged
  18. bound — tied together
  19. craft — a skill
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. file — a document
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. wax — to grow
  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