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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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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: saw · club · wax · root · bat · firm · deal · face

  1. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  6. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  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. firm — steady
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. club — for golf
  4. root — the cause
  5. deal — to handle
  6. firm — decided
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. firm — a company
  9. club — for dancing
  10. wax — to grow
  11. saw — the tool
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. root — of a plant
  14. bat — the animal
  15. club — a group
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. face — to confront
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. face — part of the head
  21. saw — the tool
  22. root — of a word
  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