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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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. wax — to grow
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. bore — to drill
  7. snap — to click
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. date — the fruit
  15. spring — the season
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. bore — to tire
  20. wake — a trail
  21. spring — a coil
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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