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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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. The tickets are free of ________________.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. fall — to drop
  3. wax — to grow
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. band — a ring
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. cell — a phone
  9. charge — a price
  10. band — a music group
  11. cell — in biology
  12. land — to come down
  13. land — ground
  14. charge — in control
  15. fall — the season
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. spring — of water
  19. spring — the season
  20. fall — to drop
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. spring — a coil
  23. charge — electricity
  24. coach — a trainer

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