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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 116 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: wax · cabinet · degree · pit · face · last · mate · clip

  1. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. What do you think of the new ________________?
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. face — to confront
  3. last — finally
  4. pit — a hole
  5. face — to point toward
  6. wax — to grow
  7. face — part of the head
  8. last — to go on
  9. degree — from a university
  10. clip — for paper
  11. degree — an amount
  12. last — final
  13. mate — a friend
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. mate — a partner
  16. clip — a video
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. clip — to cut
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. degree — temperature
  21. pit — in a race
  22. pit — a fruit stone
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. mate — to breed

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