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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. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. The tickets are free of ________________.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  7. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  8. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  15. When was this ________________ built?
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. staff — employees
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. charge — a price
  5. court — of law
  6. temple — side of the head
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. charge — in control
  9. file — a tool
  10. rock — a stone
  11. staff — employees
  12. file — a document
  13. staff — a stick
  14. charge — electricity
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. season — in sport
  17. season — of the year
  18. file — a line of people
  19. rock — music
  20. court — for sport
  21. court — of a king
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. wax — to grow
  24. rock — to move gently

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