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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  17. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. land — ground
  3. lean — to bend
  4. land — a country
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. mark — a trace
  7. saw — the tool
  8. net — in sport
  9. deal — to handle
  10. net — for catching
  11. mark — a grade
  12. drill — the tool
  13. drill — army training
  14. wax — to grow
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. mark — to pay attention
  17. deal — a big deal
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. net — after costs
  20. deal — an agreement
  21. saw — the tool
  22. drill — a practice
  23. lean — thin
  24. lean — to rest against

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