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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: wake · cap · can · chair · face · clip · hand · wax

  1. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. face — part of the head
  3. can — to be able to
  4. face — to point toward
  5. can — a tin
  6. clip — for paper
  7. chair — a leader
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. wax — to grow
  10. clip — to cut
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. cap — of ice
  13. clip — a video
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. cap — a hat
  16. hand — help
  17. wake — a trail
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. cap — a lid
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. can — a tin
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. hand — in cards
  24. face — to confront

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