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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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  13. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  14. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. ball — a round shape
  3. last — final
  4. chest — of your body
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. ball — a dance
  8. club — for golf
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. calf — of the leg
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. current — electric
  15. chest — of your body
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. current — of water
  18. club — for dancing
  19. chest — a box
  20. wax — to grow
  21. current — happening now
  22. last — finally
  23. club — a group
  24. ball — a great time

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