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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 elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. What do you think of the new ________________?
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. cabinet — a cupboard
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. game — a match
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. row — a line
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. mine — for digging
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. game — wild animals
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. band — a music group
  19. row — to paddle
  20. band — a ring
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. lash — a whip stroke
  24. wax — to grow

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