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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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. kid — to tease
  3. scale — size or range
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. mine — for digging
  8. kick — in football
  9. mate — a friend
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. dip — to sink
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. kid — child
  15. scale — in music
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. mate — a partner
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. wax — to grow
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. wax — for sculpting

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