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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. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. We're on a ________________ here.
  18. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. rule — a law
  3. wax — to grow
  4. track — a path
  5. shower — rain
  6. rule — government
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. track — a song
  9. cold — not warm
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. shower — to wash
  13. can — to be able to
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. roll — a list
  16. cold — an illness
  17. roll — on a roll
  18. can — a tin
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. roll — a cake
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. track — to keep track

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