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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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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 · current · wind · wax · snap · bear · stick · field

  1. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. wind — moving air
  3. field — farmland
  4. field — for sport
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. current — happening now
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. wind — moving air
  14. current — electric
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. current — of water
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. field — a subject
  19. wax — to grow
  20. bear — the animal
  21. face — to point toward
  22. bear — the animal
  23. face — to confront
  24. snap — to click

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