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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. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. The tickets are free of ________________.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. wake — a trail
  6. saw — the tool
  7. charge — a price
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. mine — for digging
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. cold — not warm
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. saw — the tool
  14. pop — soda
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. pop — music
  18. charge — electricity
  19. cold — an illness
  20. charge — in control
  21. pop — to visit
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. fan — a supporter

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