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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 120 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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. This piece is in a major ________________.
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a tree
  2. mine — for digging
  3. chest — of your body
  4. wax — to grow
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. chest — of your body
  7. press — a publisher
  8. press — newspapers
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. fine — all right
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. key — for a lock
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. chest — a box
  16. press — to push
  17. key — the most important part
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. fine — high quality
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. key — in music
  22. staff — employees
  23. staff — a stick
  24. staff — employees

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