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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. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. spring — the season
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. wax — to grow
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. track — to keep track
  10. pop — music
  11. spring — a coil
  12. season — in sport
  13. game — a match
  14. season — of the year
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. spring — of water
  18. pop — to visit
  19. track — a path
  20. pop — soda
  21. hide — animal skin
  22. game — wild animals
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. season — to add flavour

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