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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. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. The tickets are free of ________________.
  13. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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. file — a line of people
  4. ground — a position
  5. rest — what's left
  6. rest — what's left
  7. charge — electricity
  8. ground — crushed
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. track — a song
  11. file — a document
  12. charge — a price
  13. charge — in control
  14. rest — a break
  15. wax — to grow
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. bat — the animal
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. track — a path
  22. track — to keep track
  23. file — a tool
  24. ground — the earth

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