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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 elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. My father caught me by the ________________.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. I can't ________________ this cold.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  22. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. arm — a part of something
  3. wax — to grow
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. net — after costs
  6. squash — to crush
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. field — a subject
  9. field — farmland
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. net — in sport
  12. pop — soda
  13. pop — music
  14. stand — to bear
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. pop — to visit
  17. squash — the sport
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. stand — on your feet
  20. net — for catching
  21. stand — for spectators
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. field — for sport

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