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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. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. When will it ________________ you to start?
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. face — part of the head
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. bat — the animal
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. face — to point toward
  10. race — a contest
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. race — humankind
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. suit — clothes
  15. tear — from crying
  16. kick — in football
  17. tear — from crying
  18. ball — a great time
  19. suit — in cards
  20. race — the arms race
  21. ball — a dance
  22. suit — to fit
  23. wax — to grow
  24. tear — to rip

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