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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. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. When was this ________________ built?
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. The tickets are free of ________________.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. charge — in control
  3. chest — of your body
  4. temple — side of the head
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. race — a contest
  7. race — humankind
  8. charge — electricity
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. chest — of your body
  12. rule — government
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. land — ground
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. rule — a law
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. wax — to grow
  19. chest — a box
  20. land — a country
  21. land — to come down
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. charge — a price
  24. race — the arms race

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