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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  9. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. When was this ________________ built?
  19. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. court — of law
  4. wound — an injury
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. court — for sport
  7. object — to protest
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. object — an aim
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. wax — to grow
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. sharp — clever
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. object — a thing
  20. wound — an injury
  21. court — of a king
  22. temple — side of the head
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. rash — a series

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