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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. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. bore — to tire
  4. cold — not warm
  5. ball — a dance
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. degree — an amount
  8. degree — temperature
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. wax — to grow
  11. degree — from a university
  12. bear — the animal
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. bore — to drill
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. bear — the animal
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. ball — a great time
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. cold — an illness
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. stick — to attach or keep to

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