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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. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. The tickets are free of ________________.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. charge — electricity
  3. land — ground
  4. land — to come down
  5. wax — to grow
  6. band — a music group
  7. root — of a word
  8. chip — to eat
  9. pop — soda
  10. land — a country
  11. hand — in cards
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. pop — to visit
  17. chip — for betting
  18. charge — in control
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. charge — a price
  21. hand — help
  22. band — a ring
  23. root — the cause
  24. root — of a plant

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