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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 · wax · bore · present · drill · suit · chest · pound

  1. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. When will it ________________ you to start?
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. present — there
  4. present — a gift
  5. chest — of your body
  6. suit — in cards
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. chest — a box
  10. pound — a weight
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. wax — to grow
  13. suit — to fit
  14. drill — the tool
  15. drill — army training
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. drill — a practice
  18. bore — to tire
  19. bore — to drill
  20. suit — clothes
  21. face — to point toward
  22. face — to confront
  23. present — the time now
  24. chest — of your body

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