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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. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. firm — decided
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. firm — steady
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. spring — a coil
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. spring — of water
  12. chest — a box
  13. kid — child
  14. chest — of your body
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. chest — of your body
  18. firm — a company
  19. kid — to tease
  20. spring — the season
  21. wake — a trail
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. dip — to sink
  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