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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 120 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 museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. capital — a city
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. lean — thin
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. capital — money
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. wound — an injury
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. dip — to sink
  17. wound — an injury
  18. snap — to click
  19. bear — the animal
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. bear — the animal
  22. wax — to grow
  23. lean — to bend
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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