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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. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  10. The tickets are free of ________________.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. charge — electricity
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. spring — the season
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. pop — to visit
  9. charge — in control
  10. charge — a price
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. wound — an injury
  13. wound — an injury
  14. lie — to recline
  15. cell — a phone
  16. spring — of water
  17. pop — soda
  18. wax — to grow
  19. spring — a coil
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. cell — in biology
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. pop — music

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