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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. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  15. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  16. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. The tickets are free of ________________.
  21. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. land — to come down
  5. face — to point toward
  6. land — a country
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. staff — a stick
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. lean — thin
  13. face — part of the head
  14. staff — employees
  15. charge — in control
  16. staff — employees
  17. land — ground
  18. face — to confront
  19. pound — a weight
  20. charge — a price
  21. charge — electricity
  22. bat — the animal
  23. wax — to grow
  24. pound — to hit hard

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