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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  21. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. The tickets are free of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. march — the month
  3. leaves — of a tree
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. march — the month
  8. shower — rain
  9. land — a country
  10. bass — the fish
  11. land — ground
  12. charge — in control
  13. wax — to grow
  14. march — music
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. bass — low music
  17. clip — to cut
  18. clip — a video
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. leaves — lets stay
  21. charge — electricity
  22. clip — for paper
  23. shower — to wash
  24. charge — a price

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