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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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. The tickets are free of ________________.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. staff — a stick
  3. charge — electricity
  4. wax — to grow
  5. capital — a city
  6. bound — tied together
  7. cell — in biology
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. capital — money
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. bound — obliged
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. shower — to wash
  14. charge — in control
  15. bound — certain
  16. charge — a price
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. stem — to come from
  20. staff — employees
  21. shower — rain
  22. staff — employees
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. cell — in a prison

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