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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 120 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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. scale — size or range
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. tube — the underground
  7. shower — to wash
  8. wax — to grow
  9. court — of law
  10. present — a gift
  11. tube — a container
  12. scale — in music
  13. present — the time now
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. court — for sport
  19. court — of a king
  20. wind — moving air
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. shower — rain
  23. present — there
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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