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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: last · chest · face · stick · wax · hide · dip · band

  1. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. face — to confront
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. band — a music group
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. last — final
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. last — finally
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. face — part of the head
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. chest — a box
  15. chest — of your body
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. chest — of your body
  18. band — a ring
  19. face — to point toward
  20. last — to go on
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. dip — to sink
  23. wax — to grow
  24. dip — to dunk

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