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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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  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. coach — pulled by horses
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. present — a gift
  5. wax — to grow
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. file — a document
  9. wake — a trail
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. file — a line of people
  12. rule — a law
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. present — the time now
  18. file — a tool
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. mine — for digging
  21. bowl — a dish
  22. present — there
  23. rule — government
  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