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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 116 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. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. The tickets are free of ________________.
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. craft — a skill
  3. saw — the tool
  4. charge — a price
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. cold — not warm
  7. wave — of the sea
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. cold — an illness
  11. charge — in control
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. saw — the tool
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. craft — boats
  17. wax — to grow
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. wave — a sudden rise
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. fork — in a road
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. cold — the Cold War

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