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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. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. net — after costs
  3. spell — letters
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. mate — a partner
  6. net — for catching
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. kick — in football
  9. spell — a short time
  10. mate — to breed
  11. net — in sport
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. spell — magic
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. mate — a friend
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. wax — to grow

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