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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. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. fall — the season
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. squash — to crush
  6. field — a subject
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. rule — government
  10. wax — to grow
  11. field — farmland
  12. squash — the sport
  13. chip — to eat
  14. field — for sport
  15. chip — for betting
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. rule — a law
  18. fall — to drop
  19. branch — a division
  20. fall — to drop
  21. sharp — clever
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. wax — for sculpting

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