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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. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. file — a document
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. march — music
  7. chair — a leader
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. capital — a city
  10. file — a tool
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. rule — government
  13. march — the month
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. wax — to grow
  17. rule — a law
  18. capital — money
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. file — a line of people
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. fan — a supporter

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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