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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. rule — government
  5. wax — to grow
  6. march — the month
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. hand — in cards
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. march — the month
  14. track — a song
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. row — a line
  17. pitch — completely
  18. track — a path
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. rule — a law
  22. row — to paddle
  23. track — to keep track
  24. march — music

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