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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 116 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 museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  10. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. rule — a law
  4. net — in sport
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. present — a gift
  8. wax — to grow
  9. cabinet — a cupboard
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. present — there
  13. wound — an injury
  14. rule — government
  15. wound — an injury
  16. clip — to cut
  17. net — after costs
  18. net — for catching
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. present — the time now
  21. clip — a video
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. clip — for paper
  24. rule — to rule out

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