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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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  22. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. pop — music
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. leaves — of a tree
  5. club — for golf
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. pop — to visit
  10. kid — to tease
  11. leaves — to go away
  12. club — for dancing
  13. land — to come down
  14. wax — to grow
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. foot — part of the body
  17. land — ground
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. leaves — lets stay
  20. kid — child
  21. foot — the bottom
  22. foot — a measure
  23. pop — soda
  24. club — a group

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