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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 124 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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. wind — moving air
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. cue — for pool
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. ground — a position
  10. season — in sport
  11. wind — moving air
  12. mine — for digging
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. cue — a signal
  16. ground — the earth
  17. wax — to grow
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. ground — crushed
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. season — of the year
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. cue — a hint
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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