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

Word bank: row · wax · cell · trunk · wind · hide · last · ruler

  1. False peace will not ________________.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  12. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. The people resisted their cruel ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. wind — moving air
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. last — final
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. cell — in biology
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. last — finally
  16. row — a line
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. cell — a phone
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. row — to paddle
  22. wind — moving air
  23. wax — to grow
  24. ruler — a monarch

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