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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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. fall — to drop
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. mate — a partner
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. capital — a city
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. mate — to breed
  9. capital — money
  10. pop — music
  11. mate — a friend
  12. club — for dancing
  13. fall — to drop
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. club — a group
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. wax — to grow
  18. club — for golf
  19. vault — an arched ceiling
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. pop — soda
  23. fall — the season
  24. vault — a safe

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