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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. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — the earth
  2. key — the most important part
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. cold — an illness
  7. ground — a position
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. court — of a king
  11. court — for sport
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. cell — a phone
  14. key — in music
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. cold — not warm
  17. ground — crushed
  18. cell — in biology
  19. court — of law
  20. wax — to grow
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. key — for a lock
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. cell — in a prison

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