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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

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

  1. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. cap — a hat
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. cap — of ice
  5. tear — from crying
  6. tear — to rip
  7. cap — a lid
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. spring — the season
  10. cue — for pool
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. leaves — to go away
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. chair — a leader
  15. spring — of water
  16. cue — a signal
  17. land — to come down
  18. spring — a coil
  19. leaves — of a tree
  20. wax — to grow
  21. tear — from crying
  22. cue — a hint
  23. land — ground
  24. chair — a professorship

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