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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 tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a tree
  2. wax — to grow
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. swing — to play on
  5. race — a contest
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. swing — music
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. race — humankind
  12. mate — to breed
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. cold — an illness
  16. mate — a partner
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. swing — in golf
  21. lie — to recline
  22. race — the arms race
  23. mate — a friend
  24. cold — not warm

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