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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 elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. wound — an injury
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. wax — to grow
  8. ground — a position
  9. ball — a dance
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. ground — crushed
  13. lean — to bend
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. lean — thin
  17. ball — a great time
  18. race — the arms race
  19. ground — the earth
  20. race — a contest
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. wound — an injury
  24. race — humankind

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