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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. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  2. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  6. The tickets are free of ________________.
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. mine — for digging
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. charge — in control
  6. charge — a price
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. wind — moving air
  9. branch — a division
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. craft — a skill
  12. stem — to come from
  13. craft — boats
  14. wind — moving air
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. bore — to tire
  18. bore — to drill
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. wax — to grow
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. stem — 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