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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. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. file — a line of people
  3. vault — a safe
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. squash — to crush
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. rule — a law
  8. clip — for paper
  9. drill — the tool
  10. rule — government
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. vault — in gymnastics
  13. wax — to grow
  14. file — a document
  15. squash — the sport
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. clip — to cut
  19. lash — a whip stroke
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. clip — a video
  22. file — a tool
  23. vault — an arched ceiling
  24. drill — a practice

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