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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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  5. The tickets are free of ________________.
  6. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  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. mine — belonging to me
  2. file — a line of people
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. chip — in a computer
  5. charge — a price
  6. chip — for betting
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. charge — in control
  10. cell — in biology
  11. charge — electricity
  12. mine — for digging
  13. file — a tool
  14. file — a document
  15. pound — a weight
  16. chip — to eat
  17. drill — the tool
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. wax — to grow
  20. cell — a phone
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. drill — a practice
  23. pound — for dogs
  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