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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. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. When will it ________________ you to start?
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. court — for sport
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. bore — to tire
  5. wax — to grow
  6. suit — clothes
  7. spell — letters
  8. squash — the sport
  9. chest — of your body
  10. spell — magic
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. chest — of your body
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. squash — to crush
  17. bore — to drill
  18. suit — in cards
  19. chest — a box
  20. suit — to fit
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. court — of law
  23. spell — a short time
  24. court — of a king

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