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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: file · wind · plane · bay · bound · face · present · wax

  1. That was ________________ to happen.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. My mare is ________________ in color.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — certain
  2. face — part of the head
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. file — a document
  5. bay — a horse colour
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. face — to point toward
  8. wind — moving air
  9. wax — to grow
  10. bay — to keep at bay
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. bound — obliged
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. bay — a part of the sea
  15. present — a gift
  16. file — a tool
  17. present — the time now
  18. wind — moving air
  19. face — to confront
  20. bound — tied together
  21. file — a line of people
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. present — there
  24. plane — a tool

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