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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 124 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. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. The tickets are free of ________________.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. charge — in control
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. stem — to come from
  8. charge — a price
  9. drill — a practice
  10. mate — to breed
  11. perch — the fish
  12. drill — army training
  13. wax — to grow
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. leaves — of a tree
  17. drill — the tool
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. charge — electricity
  20. chip — for betting
  21. chip — to eat
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. leaves — lets stay
  24. mate — a friend

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