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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. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. The tickets are free of ________________.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. charge — a price
  4. season — in sport
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. spring — the season
  7. rest — what's left
  8. bore — to drill
  9. spring — a coil
  10. charge — electricity
  11. wax — to grow
  12. bore — to tire
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. charge — in control
  15. shower — rain
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. shower — to wash
  18. rest — a break
  19. season — of the year
  20. cell — in biology
  21. spring — of water
  22. cell — a phone
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. rest — what's left

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