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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 do you think of the new ________________?
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. rule — government
  4. file — a document
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. file — a tool
  7. wax — to grow
  8. field — farmland
  9. mine — for digging
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. wave — a sudden rise
  12. rash — hasty
  13. wave — of the sea
  14. file — a line of people
  15. rule — a law
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. field — for sport
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. rash — a series
  23. field — a subject
  24. rule — to rule out

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