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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. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. firm — a company
  4. band — a music group
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. hand — in cards
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. perch — the fish
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. band — a ring
  14. wax — to grow
  15. game — wild animals
  16. firm — steady
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. game — a match
  20. firm — decided
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. hand — help
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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