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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 ball is in your ________________.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. court — for sport
  3. saw — the tool
  4. saw — the tool
  5. court — of a king
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. court — of law
  8. rash — a series
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. wax — to grow
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. game — wild animals
  16. content — happy
  17. branch — a division
  18. rash — hasty
  19. game — a match
  20. content — the amount
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. game — a kind of play

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