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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 120 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. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  2. The tickets are free of ________________.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — lets stay
  2. charge — a price
  3. net — after costs
  4. pass — to spend time
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. file — a line of people
  8. spring — of water
  9. charge — in control
  10. net — in sport
  11. file — a document
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. file — a tool
  14. pitch — completely
  15. wax — to grow
  16. leaves — of a tree
  17. spring — the season
  18. charge — electricity
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. pass — to succeed
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. spring — a coil
  23. pass — a permit
  24. net — for catching

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