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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 museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  9. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. saw — past of 'see'
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. saw — the tool
  5. wind — moving air
  6. rule — a law
  7. spell — magic
  8. vault — a safe
  9. vault — an arched ceiling
  10. drill — a practice
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. spell — letters
  13. drill — the tool
  14. rule — government
  15. wind — moving air
  16. prune — to trim
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. spell — a short time
  19. drill — army training
  20. saw — the tool
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. vault — in gymnastics
  23. wax — to grow
  24. prune — to trim

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