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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. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. wax — to grow
  3. face — part of the head
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. stock — goods
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. band — a ring
  9. rest — a break
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. chair — a leader
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. board — a committee
  15. board — to get on
  16. band — a music group
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. bat — the animal
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. rest — what's left
  21. stock — shares
  22. rest — what's left
  23. face — to point toward
  24. stock — a soup base

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