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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. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. prune — to trim
  4. file — a tool
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. prune — to trim
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. wax — to grow
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. root — of a plant
  14. root — of a word
  15. mouse — for a computer
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. wake — a trail
  18. file — a line of people
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. file — a document
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. root — the cause
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. band — a ring

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