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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: race · wax · pop · face · snap · wound · bore · ball

  1. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. face — part of the head
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. ball — a great time
  5. face — to point toward
  6. race — the arms race
  7. race — a contest
  8. pop — soda
  9. pop — to visit
  10. face — to confront
  11. wax — to grow
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. wound — an injury
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. bore — to drill
  16. bore — to tire
  17. ball — a dance
  18. snap — to click
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. race — humankind
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. pop — music
  23. wound — an injury
  24. ball — a round shape

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