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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. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  22. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. chair — a leader
  3. bass — low music
  4. wax — to grow
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. present — there
  8. shower — rain
  9. present — the time now
  10. mine — for digging
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. shower — to wash
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. bass — the fish
  24. present — a gift

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