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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. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. I can't ________________ this cold.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. stand — to bear
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. pop — to visit
  6. rule — a law
  7. stand — for spectators
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. rule — government
  10. stand — on your feet
  11. capital — money
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. cell — a phone
  14. shower — to wash
  15. pop — soda
  16. capital — a city
  17. shower — rain
  18. prune — to trim
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. prune — to trim
  22. cell — in biology
  23. pop — music
  24. wax — to grow

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