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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. game — a match
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. chip — to eat
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. nail — on a finger
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. perch — the fish
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. mine — for digging
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. chip — for betting
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. wax — to grow
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. game — wild animals
  24. chip — in a computer

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