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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. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. key — for a lock
  4. march — music
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. key — in music
  8. march — the month
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. rule — a law
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. key — the most important part
  13. game — a match
  14. game — wild animals
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. rule — government
  19. mine — for digging
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. march — the month
  23. wax — to grow
  24. nail — for a hammer

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