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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. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. I can't ________________ this cold.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. cell — a phone
  4. cell — in biology
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. wax — to grow
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. stand — for spectators
  10. cap — of ice
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. cap — a hat
  13. stand — to bear
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. drill — the tool
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. drill — a practice
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. land — to come down
  20. stand — on your feet
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. land — ground
  23. cap — a lid
  24. drill — army training

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