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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. Where did you ________________ them?
  16. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. ruler — a monarch
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. face — to point toward
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. ruler — for measuring
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. mug — a cup
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. face — part of the head
  12. prune — to trim
  13. capital — money
  14. face — to confront
  15. mug — to rob
  16. mug — a face
  17. shower — rain
  18. capital — a city
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. wax — to grow
  22. prune — to trim
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. trunk — of a tree

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