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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. The tickets are free of ________________.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. land — a country
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. kick — in football
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. cold — not warm
  7. wax — to grow
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. charge — in control
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. cold — an illness
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. charge — a price
  15. scale — size or range
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. scale — in music
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. land — to come down
  23. charge — electricity
  24. patient — a sick person

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