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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 museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. I can't ________________ this cold.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  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. wax — for sculpting
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. chip — for betting
  5. cold — not warm
  6. bore — to drill
  7. chip — to eat
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. stand — to bear
  11. cell — a phone
  12. cold — an illness
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. bore — to tire
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. stand — for spectators
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. cell — in biology
  20. wax — to grow
  21. bore — gave birth
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. stand — on your feet
  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