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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 museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. The light ________________ burned out.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. I've got to change the light ________________.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. bore — to drill
  3. root — of a word
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. mine — for digging
  6. bore — to tire
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. face — to point toward
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. face — to confront
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. root — the cause
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. bulb — for light
  15. branch — a division
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. wax — to grow
  19. bulb — for light
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. face — part of the head
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. root — of a plant

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