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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  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. land — ground
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. lean — to bend
  5. land — a country
  6. leaves — of a tree
  7. file — a line of people
  8. saw — the tool
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. file — a tool
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. saw — the tool
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. wax — to grow
  18. lean — thin
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. land — to come down
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. file — a document
  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