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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 120 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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  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. wound — an injury
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. cold — an illness
  6. shower — to wash
  7. wax — to grow
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. rule — a law
  11. wound — an injury
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. fork — in a road
  16. shower — rain
  17. cold — not warm
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. rule — government
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. racket — a loud noise
  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