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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. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. wax — to grow
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. field — a subject
  7. scale — in music
  8. lean — to bend
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. scale — size or range
  12. lean — thin
  13. stock — goods
  14. sharp — clever
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. stock — shares
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. field — for sport
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. field — farmland

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