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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. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. object — a thing
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. object — to protest
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. wax — to grow
  8. kid — to tease
  9. rule — government
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. object — an aim
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. arm — a part of something
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. hand — help
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. kid — child
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. branch — a division
  24. hand — in cards

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