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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. band — a ring
  4. wind — moving air
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. leaves — lets stay
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. rule — a law
  10. rule — government
  11. leaves — of a tree
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. wax — to grow
  15. pit — in a race
  16. band — a music group
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. pit — a hole

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