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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. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  5. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  6. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  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 an elephant
  2. wax — to grow
  3. wind — moving air
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. mouse — for a computer
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. bound — obliged
  9. bound — tied together
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. wind — moving air
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. pass — a permit
  15. bound — certain
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. pass — to succeed
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. mine — for digging
  23. mine — an explosive
  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