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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 120 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. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. wave — a sudden rise
  4. mine — for digging
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. sharp — clever
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. mark — a trace
  9. field — farmland
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. wave — of the sea
  14. field — for sport
  15. field — a subject
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. wax — to grow
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. clip — to cut
  20. mark — a grade
  21. wave — with your hand
  22. clip — for paper
  23. clip — a video
  24. trunk — of a car

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