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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 assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. calf — of the leg
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. sharp — clever
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. fine — high quality
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. wax — to grow
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. march — the month
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. march — music
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. march — the month
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. wound — an injury
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. wound — an injury

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