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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 116 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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. hand — in cards
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. wax — to grow
  5. craft — boats
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. wind — moving air
  8. tear — from crying
  9. tear — to rip
  10. rule — government
  11. land — ground
  12. clip — to cut
  13. wind — moving air
  14. craft — a skill
  15. hand — help
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. clip — a video
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. land — to come down
  21. craft — a handicraft
  22. tear — from crying
  23. clip — for paper
  24. rule — a law

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