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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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  22. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. root — of a word
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. capital — a city
  5. wax — to grow
  6. calf — of the leg
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. wind — moving air
  11. capital — money
  12. firm — decided
  13. wind — moving air
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. firm — a company
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. root — of a plant
  18. root — the cause
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. firm — steady
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. wax — in the ear

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