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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 120 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: prune · bat · face · game · wax · rush · stand · dip

  1. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. I can't ________________ this cold.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. stand — to bear
  3. face — to point toward
  4. stand — on your feet
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. game — wild animals
  7. prune — to trim
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. dip — a sauce
  11. bat — the animal
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. dip — to sink
  15. rush — hurry
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. face — to confront
  18. prune — to trim
  19. game — a match
  20. stand — for spectators
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. wax — to grow
  24. wax — in the ear

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