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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. The people resisted their cruel ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. wax — to grow
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. fork — in a road
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. hand — in cards
  15. mine — for digging
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. hand — help
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. ruler — a monarch

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