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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 was locked up in a ________________.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. The tickets are free of ________________.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  9. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. fall — to drop
  3. charge — a price
  4. capital — money
  5. charge — electricity
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. fall — the season
  8. can — a tin
  9. can — to be able to
  10. wax — to grow
  11. cell — in biology
  12. fine — all right
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. capital — a city
  15. fall — to drop
  16. cell — a phone
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. can — a tin
  19. fine — high quality
  20. squash — to crush
  21. squash — the sport
  22. charge — in control
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. fine — a penalty

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