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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. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. I can't ________________ this cold.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — the earth
  2. file — a tool
  3. rule — a law
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. ground — a position
  6. clip — a video
  7. stand — to bear
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. stand — on your feet
  11. capital — money
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. capital — a city
  14. clip — for paper
  15. clip — to cut
  16. file — a document
  17. stand — for spectators
  18. ground — crushed
  19. rule — government
  20. wax — to grow
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. file — a line of people
  24. rule — to rule out

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