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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: mate · face · game · current · straw · wax · tear · capital

  1. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. tear — to rip
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. wax — to grow
  5. tear — from crying
  6. face — to point toward
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. face — to confront
  9. current — electric
  10. tear — from crying
  11. capital — money
  12. mate — a friend
  13. mate — to breed
  14. current — of water
  15. current — happening now
  16. mate — a partner
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. face — part of the head
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. game — wild animals
  23. game — a match
  24. capital — a city

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