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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 museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. ground — the earth
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. field — for sport
  6. track — to keep track
  7. ground — a position
  8. lie — to recline
  9. field — a subject
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. bore — to tire
  13. bore — to drill
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. track — a path
  17. ground — crushed
  18. wax — to grow
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. track — a song
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. field — farmland
  24. dip — to sink

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