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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 elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. toast — bread
  6. row — a line
  7. degree — from a university
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. toast — the most admired
  10. wax — to grow
  11. row — to paddle
  12. spell — a short time
  13. mark — a grade
  14. mark — a trace
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. mark — to pay attention
  17. dip — to sink
  18. spell — letters
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. degree — temperature
  21. toast — a drink to someone
  22. degree — an amount
  23. dip — to dunk
  24. spell — magic

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