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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 120 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: lean · wax · bear · plane · wound · bark · snap · face

  1. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. plane — in geometry
  3. face — to confront
  4. face — to point toward
  5. bear — the animal
  6. lean — thin
  7. plane — a tool
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. face — part of the head
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. lean — to bend
  14. wound — an injury
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. snap — to click
  18. bark — to shout
  19. bear — the animal
  20. wound — an injury
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. lean — to rest against

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