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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: perch · sharp · roll · wax · cell · wound · face · game

  1. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. We're on a ________________ here.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. cell — in biology
  3. roll — a list
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. cell — a phone
  6. roll — on a roll
  7. wound — an injury
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. game — a match
  10. wax — to grow
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. face — to point toward
  13. roll — a cake
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. face — part of the head
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. game — wild animals
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. wound — an injury
  22. perch — the fish
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. sharp — clever

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