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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
468
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: hide · ground · march · dip · wax · wound · chest · trunk

  1. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. chest — of your body
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. dip — to sink
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. wax — to grow
  10. wound — an injury
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. ground — the earth
  14. march — the month
  15. chest — a box
  16. wound — an injury
  17. ground — crushed
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. ground — a position
  20. march — the month
  21. march — music
  22. chest — of your body
  23. dip — a sauce
  24. dip — to dunk

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