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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. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  24. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. last — final
  3. wax — to grow
  4. last — finally
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. ball — a great time
  9. ball — a dance
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. last — to go on
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. bear — the animal
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. leaves — lets stay
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. bear — the animal
  20. capital — money
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. capital — a city
  23. leaves — of a tree
  24. bore — to drill

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