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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  16. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. The tickets are free of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. hand — help
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. mate — to breed
  6. wax — to grow
  7. mate — a friend
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. field — for sport
  10. cue — a signal
  11. field — a subject
  12. mate — a partner
  13. hand — in cards
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. cue — for pool
  16. charge — in control
  17. field — farmland
  18. wind — moving air
  19. saw — the tool
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. wind — moving air
  22. cue — a hint
  23. saw — the tool
  24. charge — a price

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