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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're almost out of ________________.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. ground — crushed
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. ground — the earth
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. file — a tool
  9. shower — rain
  10. rule — government
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. file — a line of people
  13. pop — to visit
  14. shower — to wash
  15. scale — in music
  16. ground — a position
  17. file — a document
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. pitch — completely
  20. rule — a law
  21. scale — size or range
  22. pop — music
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. wax — to grow

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