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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. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  13. The tickets are free of ________________.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  22. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  23. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  24. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. land — ground
  4. charge — electricity
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. lean — thin
  7. charge — in control
  8. land — a country
  9. wax — to grow
  10. club — for golf
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. can — to be able to
  13. charge — a price
  14. clip — a video
  15. lean — to bend
  16. land — to come down
  17. clip — to cut
  18. club — a group
  19. clip — for paper
  20. club — for dancing
  21. fine — high quality
  22. fine — all right
  23. can — a tin
  24. fine — a penalty

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