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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. club — a group
  3. cap — of ice
  4. cap — a hat
  5. face — to point toward
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. scale — size or range
  8. scale — in music
  9. club — for dancing
  10. cap — a lid
  11. face — to confront
  12. wax — to grow
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. club — for golf
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. face — part of the head
  22. wake — a trail
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. trunk — of a car

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