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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 120 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 pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  24. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. band — a ring
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. wax — to grow
  6. staff — employees
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. tear — from crying
  9. rule — government
  10. staff — employees
  11. game — a match
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. tear — from crying
  16. tear — to rip
  17. plane — a tool
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. rule — a law
  22. band — a music group
  23. staff — a stick
  24. nail — on a finger

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