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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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. The tickets are free of ________________.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. charge — a price
  3. land — a country
  4. land — to come down
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. bore — to tire
  7. charge — in control
  8. prune — to trim
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. fine — all right
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. wake — a trail
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. bore — to drill
  16. last — finally
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. fine — a penalty
  20. last — to go on
  21. last — final
  22. land — ground
  23. charge — electricity
  24. prune — to trim

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