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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. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  10. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. The tickets are free of ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. pop — to visit
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. pop — music
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. pop — soda
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. row — to paddle
  12. charge — in control
  13. cap — a hat
  14. row — a line
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. calf — of the leg
  17. wax — to grow
  18. cap — a lid
  19. kid — child
  20. charge — a price
  21. kid — to tease
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. mine — for digging
  24. cap — of ice

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