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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  18. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. ruler — a monarch
  4. cold — not warm
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. rest — what's left
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. cold — an illness
  13. band — a ring
  14. rest — what's left
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. pass — to spend time
  18. pass — to succeed
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. pass — a permit
  21. wax — to grow
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. rest — a break
  24. band — a music group

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