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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. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. bass — low music
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. bark — to shout
  10. wind — moving air
  11. wax — to grow
  12. staff — a stick
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. staff — employees
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. bass — the fish
  20. wind — moving air
  21. rule — a law
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. staff — employees

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