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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: ground · bay · cold · leaves · wax · bank · file · face

  1. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  2. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  3. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. My mare is ________________ in color.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  22. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — lets stay
  2. bank — for money
  3. bay — to keep at bay
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. file — a document
  6. wax — to grow
  7. face — part of the head
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. ground — crushed
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. bank — of a river
  13. cold — an illness
  14. cold — not warm
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. face — to point toward
  17. bay — a horse colour
  18. file — a tool
  19. ground — a position
  20. face — to confront
  21. bay — a part of the sea
  22. bank — for money
  23. file — a line of people
  24. ground — the earth

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