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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. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. Have you settled on a ________________?
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. Where did you ________________ them?
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. date — the fruit
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. track — a path
  5. drill — army training
  6. mug — a face
  7. shower — to wash
  8. shower — rain
  9. court — of law
  10. court — of a king
  11. drill — the tool
  12. mug — a cup
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. track — a song
  15. drill — a practice
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. court — for sport
  19. mug — to rob
  20. track — to keep track
  21. wax — to grow
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. date — on the calendar

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