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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 tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a tree
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. fine — all right
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. land — a country
  7. cell — a phone
  8. net — after costs
  9. net — for catching
  10. cell — in biology
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. mine — for digging
  13. fine — high quality
  14. wake — a trail
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. net — in sport
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. land — ground
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. land — to come down
  22. wax — to grow
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. wake — before a funeral

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