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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 · perch · land · lean · wax · file · current · plane

  1. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. The ________________ took off on time.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. He is as ________________ as a wolf.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. lean — to bend
  3. plane — an aircraft
  4. face — part of the head
  5. face — to confront
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. face — to point toward
  8. land — to come down
  9. file — a tool
  10. file — a line of people
  11. plane — a tool
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. land — ground
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. current — electric
  18. current — happening now
  19. perch — the fish
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. wax — to grow
  22. file — a document
  23. current — of water
  24. lean — thin

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