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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. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  8. What do you think of the new ________________?
  9. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. The tickets are free of ________________.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. root — of a word
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. charge — electricity
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. cabinet — a cupboard
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. charge — in control
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. wax — to grow
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. charge — a price
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. cold — not warm
  18. lean — to bend
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. root — of a plant
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. lean — thin
  23. root — the cause
  24. cold — an illness

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