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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 124 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. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. rule — government
  3. snap — to click
  4. stick — to attach or keep to
  5. march — music
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. band — a ring
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. band — a music group
  15. wax — to grow
  16. game — a match
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. rule — a law
  21. march — the month
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. game — wild animals
  24. arm — a part of something

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