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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 120 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. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. club — for dancing
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. club — for golf
  6. mate — a partner
  7. vault — a safe
  8. capital — a city
  9. vault — an arched ceiling
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. bass — low music
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. mate — a friend
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. club — a group
  17. vault — in gymnastics
  18. cold — not warm
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. cold — an illness
  21. mate — to breed
  22. wax — to grow
  23. capital — money
  24. bass — the fish

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