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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 · charge · fan · wax · bore · file · present · pitch

  1. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. The tickets are free of ________________.
  10. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. present — a gift
  3. face — to confront
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. file — a tool
  7. present — there
  8. file — a line of people
  9. charge — a price
  10. charge — in control
  11. wax — to grow
  12. bore — to drill
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. present — the time now
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. bore — to tire
  19. face — part of the head
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. file — a document
  23. pitch — completely
  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