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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: pop · game · wax · shower · file · face · snap · sharp

  1. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. game — a match
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. game — wild animals
  7. wax — to grow
  8. file — a document
  9. pop — music
  10. face — part of the head
  11. file — a tool
  12. shower — to wash
  13. pop — soda
  14. shower — rain
  15. sharp — clever
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. face — to point toward
  19. file — a line of people
  20. pop — to visit
  21. snap — to click
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. game — a kind of play

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