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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: trunk · perch · march · bear · court · wax · spell · mine

  1. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  23. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. perch — the fish
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. spell — letters
  6. march — music
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. mine — for digging
  10. court — of a king
  11. court — of law
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. spell — a short time
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. wax — to grow
  16. march — the month
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. court — for sport
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. spell — magic
  22. bear — the animal
  23. bear — the animal
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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