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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. file — a line of people
  5. perch — the fish
  6. shower — rain
  7. file — a tool
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. bore — to drill
  12. rash — a series
  13. wax — to grow
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. shower — to wash
  17. court — for sport
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. file — a document
  20. court — of a king
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. bore — to tire
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. court — of law

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