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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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. Have you found your soul ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. shower — rain
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. row — a line
  7. row — to paddle
  8. rule — government
  9. mate — to breed
  10. wax — to grow
  11. shower — to wash
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. prune — to trim
  15. cap — a hat
  16. cap — a lid
  17. rule — a law
  18. mine — for digging
  19. prune — to trim
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. cap — of ice
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. mate — a partner

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