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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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  9. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. spell — letters
  3. mine — for digging
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. cold — not warm
  8. lie — to recline
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. capital — money
  11. spell — magic
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. cold — an illness
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. wax — to grow
  21. capital — a city
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. spell — a short time

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