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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 120 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. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  24. He is as ________________ as a wolf.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. wax — to grow
  3. content — the amount
  4. content — happy
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. fine — high quality
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. scale — size or range
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. cell — a phone
  16. cell — in biology
  17. lean — to bend
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. scale — in music
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. fine — all right
  24. lean — thin

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