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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 kitten curled into a ________________.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a round shape
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. ball — a dance
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. bore — to tire
  6. last — final
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. plane — a tool
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. lie — to recline
  13. wind — moving air
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. last — to go on
  17. wind — moving air
  18. wax — to grow
  19. bore — to drill
  20. ball — a great time
  21. last — finally
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. wind — to turn a key

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