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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. The tickets are free of ________________.
  3. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. charge — a price
  3. leaves — of a tree
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. track — a path
  6. saw — the tool
  7. wax — to grow
  8. charge — electricity
  9. spring — a coil
  10. leaves — to go away
  11. spring — of water
  12. spring — the season
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. shower — rain
  16. track — a song
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. land — to come down
  19. leaves — lets stay
  20. land — a country
  21. track — to keep track
  22. charge — in control
  23. shower — to wash
  24. saw — the tool

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