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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. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  19. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. deal — to handle
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. rock — music
  5. wax — to grow
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. rock — a stone
  8. march — music
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. last — final
  11. last — finally
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. rock — to move gently
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. deal — an agreement
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. calf — of the leg
  18. bowl — a football final
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. last — to go on
  22. march — the month
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. march — the month

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