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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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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: wind · leaves · prune · calf · cell · file · face · wax

  1. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  3. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  4. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  5. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. leaves — lets stay
  3. leaves — of a tree
  4. calf — of the leg
  5. leaves — to go away
  6. face — part of the head
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. cell — a phone
  9. wax — to grow
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. file — a tool
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. file — a document
  16. wind — moving air
  17. prune — to trim
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. file — a line of people
  20. wind — moving air
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. cell — in biology
  23. face — to confront
  24. prune — to trim

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