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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. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. root — the cause
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. last — to go on
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. last — finally
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. wax — to grow
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. kid — to tease
  11. last — final
  12. scale — size or range
  13. scale — in music
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. kid — child
  16. root — of a plant
  17. root — of a word
  18. hand — help
  19. snap — to click
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. hand — in cards
  24. hand — part of the body

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