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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. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  11. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. rule — to rule out
  3. wax — to grow
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. chest — a box
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. court — of law
  8. swing — in golf
  9. court — of a king
  10. board — a committee
  11. board — a flat piece
  12. rule — a law
  13. hand — help
  14. swing — music
  15. board — to get on
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. court — for sport
  18. wind — moving air
  19. chest — of your body
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. wind — moving air
  22. swing — to play on
  23. hand — in cards
  24. rule — government

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