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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. scale — in music
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. fall — the season
  6. game — wild animals
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. hand — in cards
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. game — a match
  14. deal — to handle
  15. bat — the animal
  16. scale — size or range
  17. deal — an agreement
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. wax — to grow
  21. fall — to drop
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. fall — to drop

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