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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 polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. shower — to wash
  5. wax — to grow
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. march — the month
  8. cap — a lid
  9. march — the month
  10. bore — to tire
  11. cap — a hat
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. shower — rain
  15. branch — a division
  16. bore — to drill
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. plane — a tool
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. march — music
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. plane — an aircraft

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