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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: bear · pitch · march · face · current · kid · wax · chest

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  7. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. face — to confront
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. march — music
  6. bear — the animal
  7. current — of water
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. march — the month
  10. face — part of the head
  11. chest — a box
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. kid — child
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. current — happening now
  16. current — electric
  17. kid — to tease
  18. bear — the animal
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. face — to point toward
  21. march — the month
  22. pitch — completely
  23. chest — of your body
  24. wax — to grow

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