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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. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. band — a music group
  3. wound — an injury
  4. bound — tied together
  5. spring — a coil
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. bound — certain
  8. bound — obliged
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. wound — an injury
  11. firm — steady
  12. spring — of water
  13. spring — the season
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. band — a ring
  17. firm — decided
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. firm — a company
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. wax — to grow

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