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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. face — to confront
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. ground — the earth
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. clip — to cut
  8. craft — a skill
  9. mate — a partner
  10. wax — to grow
  11. face — part of the head
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. face — to point toward
  14. branch — a division
  15. mate — a friend
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. clip — for paper
  18. mate — to breed
  19. craft — boats
  20. clip — a video
  21. ground — a position
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. craft — a handicraft

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