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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. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. land — a country
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. bass — the fish
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. land — ground
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. lash — to lash out
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. wax — to grow
  15. bass — low music
  16. branch — a division
  17. perch — the fish
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. date — the fruit
  20. land — to come down
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. lash — a whip stroke
  24. lash — an eyelash

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