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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: march · chest · plane · bat · face · mate · trunk · wax

  1. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. The ________________ took off on time.
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. chest — a box
  5. wax — to grow
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. plane — a tool
  9. chest — of your body
  10. face — to point toward
  11. march — music
  12. mate — a partner
  13. plane — an aircraft
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. face — part of the head
  16. chest — of your body
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. mate — a friend
  19. march — the month
  20. bat — the animal
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. march — the month
  23. face — to confront
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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