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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: face · wax · wound · bat · pit · net · branch · rest

  1. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. face — to confront
  4. branch — a division
  5. face — part of the head
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. net — for catching
  8. wound — an injury
  9. wax — to grow
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. pit — a hole
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. net — in sport
  15. pit — in a race
  16. rest — a break
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. bat — the animal
  20. wound — an injury
  21. net — after costs
  22. rest — what's left
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  24. face — to point toward

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