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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 116 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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: rock · ground · wax · trunk · snap · cue · court · tear

  1. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  20. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. cue — a signal
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. snap — to click
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. court — for sport
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. rock — music
  11. court — of law
  12. tear — from crying
  13. wax — to grow
  14. ground — the earth
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. tear — from crying
  17. tear — to rip
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. cue — for pool
  20. cue — a hint
  21. ground — a position
  22. rock — a stone
  23. court — of a king
  24. rock — to move gently

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