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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. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  16. My mare is ________________ in color.
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. shower — rain
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. bark — to shout
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. wind — moving air
  9. wax — to grow
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. bay — to keep at bay
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. bay — a part of the sea
  16. bay — a horse colour
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. shower — to wash
  24. bat — the animal

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