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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: land · rash · face · mark · bat · bound · wax · season

  1. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. bat — the animal
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. land — to come down
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. bound — tied together
  7. face — to confront
  8. wax — to grow
  9. land — ground
  10. land — a country
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. rash — hasty
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. rash — a series
  15. mark — a grade
  16. face — part of the head
  17. bound — certain
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. season — of the year
  20. season — in sport
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. mark — a trace
  23. face — to point toward
  24. bat — for baseball

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