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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. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. The tickets are free of ________________.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. fine — a penalty
  3. wax — to grow
  4. fine — high quality
  5. last — to go on
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. last — final
  8. wind — moving air
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. wind — moving air
  11. charge — in control
  12. fine — all right
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. charge — a price
  15. last — finally
  16. dip — to sink
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. mine — for digging
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. dip — a sauce
  24. dip — to dunk

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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