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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: date · scale · mate · wax · face · kick · hide · wake

  1. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. mate — a partner
  4. face — to confront
  5. date — the fruit
  6. mate — a friend
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. scale — in music
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. wax — to grow
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. scale — size or range
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. face — to point toward
  17. wake — a trail
  18. mate — to breed
  19. face — part of the head
  20. kick — in football
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. wake — before a funeral

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