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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: board · face · field · roll · bat · wax · arm · season

  1. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. We're on a ________________ here.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  14. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  17. My father caught me by the ________________.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. board — to get on
  4. bat — the animal
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. face — to point toward
  7. roll — on a roll
  8. field — farmland
  9. season — in sport
  10. season — of the year
  11. face — to confront
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. roll — a cake
  14. roll — a list
  15. field — a subject
  16. board — a committee
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. face — part of the head
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. board — a flat piece
  22. field — for sport
  23. arm — a part of something
  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