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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 116 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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. prune — to trim
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. bore — to drill
  5. prune — to trim
  6. current — happening now
  7. bore — gave birth
  8. bore — to tire
  9. current — of water
  10. wax — to grow
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. snap — to click
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. current — electric
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. bat — the animal
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. prune — the fruit

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