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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. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  15. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. land — ground
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. land — a country
  5. craft — boats
  6. craft — a skill
  7. capital — a city
  8. field — for sport
  9. wax — to grow
  10. field — farmland
  11. land — to come down
  12. calf — of the leg
  13. field — a subject
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. chip — for betting
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. craft — a handicraft
  20. chip — to eat
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. capital — money
  24. wax — in the ear

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