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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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. drill — army training
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. wind — moving air
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. wax — to grow
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. lean — to bend
  13. drill — the tool
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. scale — in music
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. drill — a practice
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. wind — moving air
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. lean — thin
  22. scale — size or range
  23. kick — in football
  24. kick — with a leg

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