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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. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. net — for catching
  4. wind — moving air
  5. craft — a handicraft
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. face — to confront
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. file — a tool
  11. net — after costs
  12. face — part of the head
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. craft — boats
  15. snap — to click
  16. net — in sport
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. wind — moving air
  19. file — a document
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. craft — a skill
  22. file — a line of people
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. face — to point toward

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