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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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. band — a music group
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. saw — the tool
  5. net — for catching
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. net — in sport
  8. saw — the tool
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. leaves — to go away
  11. land — to come down
  12. rule — government
  13. wax — to grow
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. band — a ring
  16. rule — a law
  17. net — after costs
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. land — ground
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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