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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 · hand · perch · band · wound · deal · foot · wax

  1. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. face — part of the head
  5. deal — an agreement
  6. perch — the fish
  7. face — to point toward
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. foot — a measure
  11. hand — help
  12. face — to confront
  13. foot — part of the body
  14. wound — an injury
  15. deal — a big deal
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. wax — to grow
  19. deal — to handle
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. wound — an injury
  22. band — a ring
  23. foot — the bottom
  24. band — a music group

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