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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 120 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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a tree
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. mate — a partner
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. mate — a friend
  7. mine — for digging
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. mate — to breed
  10. wax — to grow
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. clip — for paper
  13. clip — to cut
  14. clip — a video
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. stock — goods
  18. stock — shares

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