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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. land — ground
  3. can — a tin
  4. bass — the fish
  5. lash — an eyelash
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. can — a tin
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. drill — a practice
  11. drill — the tool
  12. can — to be able to
  13. wax — to grow
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. land — a country
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. drill — army training
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. bass — low music
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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