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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. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. rule — a law
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. rule — government
  7. land — a country
  8. kid — child
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. cell — a phone
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. wax — to grow
  13. bore — to tire
  14. present — there
  15. wake — a trail
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. cell — in biology
  18. bore — to drill
  19. present — a gift
  20. land — ground
  21. land — to come down
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. kid — to tease
  24. present — the time now

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