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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. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  11. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  12. When was this ________________ built?
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. The tickets are free of ________________.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  18. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  19. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. charge — electricity
  3. spring — of water
  4. prune — to trim
  5. chest — a box
  6. spring — the season
  7. charge — in control
  8. spring — a coil
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. can — to be able to
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. prune — to trim
  14. charge — a price
  15. shower — rain
  16. shower — to wash
  17. can — a tin
  18. can — a tin
  19. temple — side of the head
  20. chest — of your body
  21. wax — to grow
  22. chest — of your body
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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