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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: wax · tear · pound · bulb · fan · wind · saw · face

  1. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. I've got to change the light ________________.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. saw — the tool
  4. face — to point toward
  5. bulb — for light
  6. wind — moving air
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. tear — from crying
  9. wind — moving air
  10. pound — a weight
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. wax — to grow
  16. bulb — for light
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. saw — the tool
  20. tear — to rip
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. bulb — of a plant
  23. tear — from crying
  24. face — part of the head

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