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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 elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. sharp — clever
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. firm — a company
  9. wax — to grow
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. club — a group
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. band — a ring
  15. club — for dancing
  16. firm — decided
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. hand — in cards
  19. hand — help
  20. band — a music group
  21. firm — steady
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. club — for golf
  24. hand — part of the body

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