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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. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. wax — to grow
  3. court — of law
  4. can — to be able to
  5. prune — to trim
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. can — a tin
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. tear — from crying
  11. face — part of the head
  12. court — of a king
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. mate — a friend
  15. tear — to rip
  16. face — to confront
  17. mate — to breed
  18. tear — from crying
  19. prune — to trim
  20. can — a tin
  21. face — to point toward
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. mate — a partner
  24. trunk — of a car

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