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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. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. The tickets are free of ________________.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  11. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. charge — a price
  3. spell — a short time
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. squash — the sport
  6. fine — a penalty
  7. staff — a stick
  8. fine — all right
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. charge — in control
  11. charge — electricity
  12. spell — letters
  13. spell — magic
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. squash — to crush
  16. fine — high quality
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. staff — employees
  19. wax — to grow
  20. stem — to come from
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. staff — employees
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. trunk — of a car

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