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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. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. The tickets are free of ________________.
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. row — to paddle
  4. charge — electricity
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. file — a tool
  7. charge — in control
  8. file — a document
  9. ball — a great time
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. row — a line
  13. charge — a price
  14. staff — employees
  15. staff — employees
  16. ground — the earth
  17. ground — crushed
  18. land — to come down
  19. staff — a stick
  20. land — ground
  21. ball — a dance
  22. ground — a position
  23. land — a country
  24. file — a line of people

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