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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 had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  15. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. fall — to drop
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. drill — army training
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. fall — to drop
  9. fine — high quality
  10. fall — the season
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. wax — to grow
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. pound — a weight
  19. fine — all right
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. drill — a practice
  22. cold — not warm
  23. calf — of the leg
  24. drill — the tool

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