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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 116 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. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  11. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  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. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  22. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. leaves — to go away
  3. land — to come down
  4. wax — to grow
  5. spell — letters
  6. hand — help
  7. bore — to tire
  8. hand — in cards
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. object — an aim
  11. leaves — of a tree
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. land — ground
  16. spell — magic
  17. cell — in biology
  18. bore — to drill
  19. spell — a short time
  20. cell — a phone
  21. object — to protest
  22. object — a thing
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. land — a country

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