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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. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. cap — a lid
  3. ground — a position
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. ground — the earth
  8. cell — a phone
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. ground — crushed
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. cap — a hat
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. cell — in biology
  18. scale — in music
  19. scale — size or range
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. mine — for digging
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. wax — to grow

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