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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 elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. wax — to grow
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. kid — child
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. ground — crushed
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. mine — for digging
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. chair — a leader
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. ground — a position
  16. mouse — for a computer
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. kid — to tease
  22. ground — the earth
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. mouse — the animal

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