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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 120 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. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. fork — in a road
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. drill — army training
  6. drill — a practice
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. hand — in cards
  9. hand — help
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. wax — to grow
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. rash — a series
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. drill — the tool
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. rash — hasty
  24. fork — to eat with

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