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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. land — a country
  5. pit — a hole
  6. pit — in a race
  7. wax — to grow
  8. mate — a friend
  9. last — finally
  10. saw — the tool
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. land — to come down
  14. land — ground
  15. last — final
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. last — to go on
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. mate — to breed
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. pit — a fruit stone
  22. saw — the tool
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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