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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.

Words on the sheet
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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: prune · land · season · cold · wax · shower · game · charge

  1. When are we going to ________________?
  2. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. The tickets are free of ________________.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. charge — electricity
  3. charge — a price
  4. cold — an illness
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. season — of the year
  8. game — a match
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. land — a country
  11. cold — not warm
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. charge — in control
  14. prune — to trim
  15. season — in sport
  16. shower — rain
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. wax — to grow
  19. shower — to wash
  20. prune — to trim
  21. land — ground
  22. game — wild animals
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. wax — for sculpting

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