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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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. tube — a container
  6. club — for dancing
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. fine — high quality
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. fine — all right
  12. club — a group
  13. tube — the underground
  14. club — for golf
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. kid — to tease
  18. wax — to grow
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. board — to get on
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. kid — child
  23. board — a committee
  24. wound — an injury

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