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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 116 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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: season · wax · stand · face · squash · ball · clip · cell

  1. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. I can't ________________ this cold.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. cell — a phone
  3. clip — for paper
  4. face — to point toward
  5. clip — to cut
  6. squash — the sport
  7. stand — on your feet
  8. wax — to grow
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. squash — to crush
  12. stand — for spectators
  13. clip — a video
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. ball — a great time
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. cell — in biology
  18. face — part of the head
  19. season — of the year
  20. stand — to bear
  21. ball — a dance
  22. season — in sport
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. wax — in the ear

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