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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've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. object — a thing
  3. land — to come down
  4. land — ground
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. object — to protest
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. sharp — clever
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. wax — to grow
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. land — a country
  16. tube — a container
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. tube — the underground
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. object — an aim
  21. mine — for digging
  22. scale — in music
  23. scale — size or range
  24. scale — for weighing

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