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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. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. leaves — lets stay
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. stick — to attach or keep to
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. bound — tied together
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. field — farmland
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. leaves — to go away
  13. wax — to grow
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. capital — money
  16. bound — certain
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. wind — moving air
  19. field — a subject
  20. field — for sport
  21. capital — a city
  22. wind — moving air
  23. bound — obliged
  24. leaves — 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