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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. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. present — the time now
  7. ground — crushed
  8. mine — for digging
  9. bound — tied together
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. game — a match
  13. game — wild animals
  14. present — a gift
  15. kick — in football
  16. present — there
  17. ground — the earth
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. ground — a position
  20. bound — certain
  21. wax — to grow
  22. bound — obliged
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. kick — with a leg

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