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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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  23. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  24. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. leaves — of a tree
  4. rash — hasty
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. calf — of the leg
  7. rash — a series
  8. cell — in biology
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. bass — the fish
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. band — a ring
  15. wax — to grow
  16. bat — the animal
  17. band — a music group
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. bass — low music
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. leaves — lets stay
  23. leaves — to go away
  24. calf — a young animal

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