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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 elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  19. What do you think of the new ________________?
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. current — of water
  9. court — of a king
  10. court — of law
  11. sharp — clever
  12. court — for sport
  13. scale — in music
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. current — happening now
  16. wax — to grow
  17. scale — size or range
  18. cabinet — a cupboard
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. current — electric
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. squash — the sport
  24. squash — to crush

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