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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 museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. When will it ________________ you to start?
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. The train ________________ at six o'clock.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. leaves — lets stay
  4. game — wild animals
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. bass — low music
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. clip — for paper
  11. bass — the fish
  12. suit — in cards
  13. clip — a video
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. suit — to fit
  16. clip — to cut
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. suit — clothes
  19. game — a match
  20. wax — to grow
  21. leaves — of a tree
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. leaves — to go away

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