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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. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. The ________________ went through the wall.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. chest — a box
  3. rule — a law
  4. bound — obliged
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. dip — to sink
  7. chest — of your body
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. file — a document
  10. rule — government
  11. bound — certain
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. file — a line of people
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. bound — tied together
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. wax — to grow
  20. chest — of your body
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. plane — a tool
  23. file — a tool
  24. plane — in geometry

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