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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 116 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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. land — to come down
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. net — for catching
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. spring — of water
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. net — in sport
  9. bass — the fish
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. spring — the season
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. kid — child
  14. land — a country
  15. calf — of the leg
  16. land — ground
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. kid — to tease
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. net — after costs
  23. bass — low music
  24. wax — to grow

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