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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. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. My mare is ________________ in color.
  18. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  19. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. drill — the tool
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. bay — a part of the sea
  5. branch — a division
  6. rule — government
  7. clip — to cut
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. clip — for paper
  10. drill — a practice
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. pit — a hole
  14. clip — a video
  15. wax — to grow
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. bay — a horse colour
  18. vault — an arched ceiling
  19. bay — to keep at bay
  20. drill — army training
  21. pit — in a race
  22. vault — a safe
  23. rule — a law
  24. vault — in gymnastics

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