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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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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: wax · shower · ground · present · chest · march · toast · face

  1. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. face — part of the head
  3. face — to point toward
  4. toast — bread
  5. shower — to wash
  6. toast — a drink to someone
  7. ground — the earth
  8. present — a gift
  9. toast — the most admired
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. wax — to grow
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. shower — rain
  15. ground — crushed
  16. chest — of your body
  17. chest — a box
  18. march — the month
  19. march — the month
  20. present — there
  21. ground — a position
  22. chest — of your body
  23. face — to confront
  24. present — the time now

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