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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 museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. rule — a law
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. club — a group
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. row — to paddle
  7. row — a line
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. club — for dancing
  10. net — in sport
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. shower — rain
  14. club — for golf
  15. wax — to grow
  16. mine — for digging
  17. rule — government
  18. net — after costs
  19. net — for catching
  20. shower — to wash
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. mine — belonging to me

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