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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. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. face — to point toward
  3. march — the month
  4. march — music
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. spell — magic
  7. season — of the year
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. kid — to tease
  11. spell — a short time
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. face — part of the head
  15. kid — child
  16. wax — to grow
  17. face — to confront
  18. march — the month
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. season — in sport
  21. bat — the animal
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. spell — letters
  24. season — to add flavour

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