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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 120 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: chip · face · wake · deal · wax · chest · ground · bat

  1. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  11. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. face — part of the head
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. deal — a big deal
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. ground — crushed
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. face — to point toward
  10. deal — to handle
  11. chip — in a computer
  12. ground — the earth
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. bat — the animal
  15. chest — a box
  16. chip — for betting
  17. wake — a trail
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. deal — an agreement
  20. chest — of your body
  21. chip — to eat
  22. wax — to grow
  23. chest — of your body
  24. ground — a position

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