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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. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. Have you settled on a ________________?
  19. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. wax — to grow
  6. shower — rain
  7. pass — to spend time
  8. game — wild animals
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. pass — a permit
  11. date — the fruit
  12. hand — in cards
  13. hand — help
  14. rule — government
  15. rule — a law
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. pass — to succeed
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. game — a match
  24. shower — to wash

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