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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: pop · face · craft · ball · ground · shower · rest · wax

  1. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. rest — what's left
  4. ground — the earth
  5. pop — to visit
  6. rest — a break
  7. pop — soda
  8. wax — to grow
  9. shower — to wash
  10. face — to point toward
  11. rest — what's left
  12. ball — a great time
  13. pop — music
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. ball — a dance
  16. craft — boats
  17. shower — rain
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. craft — a handicraft
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. craft — a skill
  22. ground — a position
  23. face — part of the head
  24. ground — crushed

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