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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. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. perch — the fish
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. cell — in biology
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. wax — to grow
  12. toast — the most admired
  13. court — of a king
  14. court — for sport
  15. toast — a drink to someone
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. cell — a phone
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. kick — in football
  23. court — of law
  24. toast — bread

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