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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 had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  6. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. wax — to grow
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. calf — of the leg
  6. chip — for betting
  7. chip — to eat
  8. spell — a short time
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. spell — magic
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. cold — not warm
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. spell — letters
  24. straw — a straw man

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