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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. wax — to grow
  3. firm — decided
  4. spring — the season
  5. track — to keep track
  6. spring — a coil
  7. swing — to play on
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. land — a country
  10. firm — steady
  11. rule — government
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. rule — a law
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. spring — of water
  16. track — a song
  17. track — a path
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. land — ground
  20. swing — music
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. firm — a company
  23. swing — in golf
  24. nail — for a hammer

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