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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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. land — ground
  3. foot — the bottom
  4. shower — to wash
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. foot — a measure
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. pound — a weight
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. date — the fruit
  15. wax — to grow
  16. foot — part of the body
  17. cell — in biology
  18. cue — a hint
  19. land — to come down
  20. shower — rain
  21. cue — for pool
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. cell — a phone
  24. cue — a signal

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