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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 116 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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. Where did you ________________ them?
  15. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. land — a country
  3. tear — from crying
  4. game — wild animals
  5. land — to come down
  6. drill — a practice
  7. mug — a face
  8. tear — to rip
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. land — ground
  11. drill — army training
  12. swing — in golf
  13. game — a match
  14. mug — to rob
  15. mug — a cup
  16. swing — music
  17. tear — from crying
  18. cell — in biology
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. drill — the tool
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. wax — to grow
  23. swing — to play on
  24. wax — in the ear

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