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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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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: wax · trunk · bear · pitcher · firm · land · scale · cell

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  15. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. cell — a phone
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. bear — the animal
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. scale — in music
  9. wax — to grow
  10. bear — the animal
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. firm — a company
  15. firm — steady
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. land — to come down
  18. land — a country
  19. scale — size or range
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. firm — decided
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. cell — in biology

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