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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. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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. wound — an injury
  4. saw — the tool
  5. face — to point toward
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. face — part of the head
  8. spell — letters
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. spell — a short time
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. wound — an injury
  14. saw — the tool
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. game — wild animals
  18. spell — magic
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. game — a match
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. wax — for sculpting

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