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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 120 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 don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. fine — a penalty
  3. rock — music
  4. shower — rain
  5. land — to come down
  6. fine — all right
  7. wax — to grow
  8. land — ground
  9. shower — to wash
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. chest — of your body
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. rush — hurry
  14. chest — of your body
  15. chip — to eat
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. land — a country
  19. chest — a box
  20. chip — for betting
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. fine — high quality
  24. rock — a stone

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