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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. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a tree
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. wound — an injury
  5. tube — the underground
  6. chest — of your body
  7. chest — of your body
  8. snap — to click
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. drill — a practice
  12. drill — the tool
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. chest — a box
  16. wax — to grow
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. drill — army training
  23. tube — a container
  24. wound — an injury

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