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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. current — happening now
  4. mine — for digging
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. cell — a phone
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. wax — to grow
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. row — a line
  11. row — to paddle
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. current — electric
  14. mate — to breed
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. current — of water
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. lean — thin
  19. game — wild animals
  20. cell — in biology
  21. mate — a friend
  22. game — a match
  23. lean — to bend
  24. wax — for sculpting

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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