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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.

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: mate · face · wax · prune · hand · toast · race · ball

  1. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — a drink to someone
  2. prune — to trim
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. face — part of the head
  5. mate — a friend
  6. face — to point toward
  7. hand — help
  8. mate — a partner
  9. race — a contest
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. prune — to trim
  13. wax — to grow
  14. hand — in cards
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. race — humankind
  17. mate — to breed
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. ball — a great time
  20. toast — bread
  21. ball — a dance
  22. toast — the most admired
  23. race — the arms race
  24. face — to confront

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