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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 tickets are free of ________________.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  12. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — a price
  2. net — for catching
  3. net — after costs
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. prune — to trim
  6. can — to be able to
  7. march — the month
  8. can — a tin
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. land — to come down
  11. can — a tin
  12. charge — electricity
  13. land — ground
  14. wake — a trail
  15. land — a country
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. march — music
  18. wax — to grow
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. march — the month
  21. prune — to trim
  22. charge — in control
  23. net — in sport
  24. wake — before a funeral

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