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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. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  13. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. key — for a lock
  4. file — a tool
  5. scale — in music
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. wax — to grow
  10. file — a document
  11. content — the amount
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. cabinet — a cupboard
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. key — the most important part
  16. file — a line of people
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. scale — size or range
  20. rule — government
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. key — in music
  23. content — happy
  24. content — videos and posts

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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