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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'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  22. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  23. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  24. The tickets are free of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. cold — not warm
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. tube — the underground
  6. bank — for money
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. land — a country
  9. wax — to grow
  10. bank — for money
  11. kid — child
  12. cold — an illness
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. tube — a container
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. land — to come down
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. kid — to tease
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. charge — electricity
  22. charge — in control
  23. bank — of a river
  24. charge — a price

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