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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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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 captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. board — to get on
  2. wax — to grow
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. board — a committee
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. kick — in football
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. chest — of your body
  11. board — a flat piece
  12. chest — of your body
  13. kid — child
  14. kid — to tease
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. chest — a box
  18. kick — with a leg

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