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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: fine · clip · cold · rest · game · wax · face · scale

  1. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. game — a match
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. cold — an illness
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. wax — to grow
  9. clip — for paper
  10. face — to confront
  11. clip — to cut
  12. rest — a break
  13. cold — not warm
  14. clip — a video
  15. fine — all right
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. face — part of the head
  18. scale — size or range
  19. scale — in music
  20. fine — high quality
  21. rest — what's left
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. game — wild animals
  24. rest — what's left

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