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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: present · rash · cold · wound · face · wax · wind · ball

  1. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. wound — an injury
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. cold — an illness
  5. face — to confront
  6. face — to point toward
  7. rash — a series
  8. wound — an injury
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. ball — a dance
  13. wind — moving air
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. present — a gift
  17. cold — not warm
  18. face — part of the head
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. wind — moving air
  21. present — the time now
  22. ball — a great time
  23. rash — hasty
  24. present — there

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