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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. fine — high quality
  4. shower — rain
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. shower — to wash
  7. staff — a stick
  8. wax — to grow
  9. last — to go on
  10. fine — all right
  11. last — final
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. bear — the animal
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. bear — the animal
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. staff — employees
  21. staff — employees
  22. kid — to tease
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. kid — child

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