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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. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  12. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. The tickets are free of ________________.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. charge — electricity
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. wax — to grow
  5. root — the cause
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. shower — rain
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. safe — out of danger
  12. safe — out of danger
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. root — of a word
  16. shower — to wash
  17. safe — a strongbox
  18. mine — for digging
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. charge — a price
  21. fork — in a road
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. root — of a plant
  24. charge — in control

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