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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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. spell — magic
  6. wound — an injury
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. wax — to grow
  11. perch — the fish
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. date — the fruit
  15. spell — letters
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. spell — a short time
  20. wake — a trail
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. wound — an injury

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