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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. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. The train ________________ at six o'clock.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — to rule out
  2. rule — a law
  3. leaves — lets stay
  4. cell — in biology
  5. wax — to grow
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. court — of law
  9. clip — for paper
  10. rule — government
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. rash — a series
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. squash — to crush
  15. clip — to cut
  16. court — for sport
  17. squash — the sport
  18. court — of a king
  19. cell — a phone
  20. leaves — of a tree
  21. clip — a video
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. rash — hasty
  24. leaves — to go away

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