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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. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. bass — the fish
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. fall — to drop
  5. wax — to grow
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. rash — a series
  9. court — for sport
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. bass — low music
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. root — of a plant
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. fall — the season
  16. rash — hasty
  17. fall — to drop
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. root — of a word
  21. root — the cause
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. court — of law
  24. court — of a king

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