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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. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. rule — a law
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. board — a flat piece
  5. band — a ring
  6. court — for sport
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. snap — to click
  9. current — happening now
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. court — of law
  13. band — a music group
  14. wax — to grow
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. court — of a king
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. board — a committee
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. current — of water
  22. board — to get on
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. current — electric

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