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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 116 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. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. track — to keep track
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. stem — to come from
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. lash — to lash out
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. track — a path
  12. track — a song
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. wax — to grow
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. bear — the animal
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. lash — a whip stroke
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. hide — to keep secret

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