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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's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  3. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. leaves — to go away
  3. plane — in geometry
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. face — to point toward
  11. kid — child
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. wax — to grow
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. plane — a tool
  17. face — part of the head
  18. kick — in football
  19. face — to confront
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. hand — help
  22. kid — to tease
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. hand — in cards

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