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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. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  23. I can't ________________ this cold.
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a tree
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. stand — on your feet
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. clip — to cut
  6. ground — the earth
  7. hand — in cards
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. wax — to grow
  10. clip — for paper
  11. ground — crushed
  12. spell — magic
  13. clip — a video
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. key — for a lock
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. ground — a position
  18. stand — for spectators
  19. spell — a short time
  20. spell — letters
  21. hand — help
  22. key — the most important part
  23. stand — to bear
  24. key — in music

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