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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. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. bound — obliged
  6. bound — certain
  7. wax — to grow
  8. root — the cause
  9. bound — tied together
  10. root — of a plant
  11. file — a tool
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. root — of a word
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. present — the time now
  16. present — there
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. file — a document
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. file — a line of people
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. present — a gift
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. wake — a trail

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