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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 museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. chest — a box
  3. stock — goods
  4. chest — of your body
  5. game — a match
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. drill — a practice
  8. stock — shares
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. game — wild animals
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. wound — an injury
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. wound — an injury
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. drill — army training
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. drill — the tool
  20. wax — to grow
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. lash — to lash out
  23. chest — of your body
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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