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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: cell · face · shower · season · kick · wound · wax · march

  1. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  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. cell — in biology
  2. march — the month
  3. march — music
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. season — of the year
  6. season — in sport
  7. face — part of the head
  8. kick — in football
  9. wound — an injury
  10. wound — an injury
  11. face — to point toward
  12. shower — rain
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. shower — to wash
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. wax — to grow
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. march — the month
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. face — to confront
  23. cell — a phone
  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