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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. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. I can't ________________ this cold.
  21. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. ruler — for measuring
  3. band — a ring
  4. wax — to grow
  5. net — after costs
  6. band — a music group
  7. net — for catching
  8. rule — a law
  9. last — final
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. chest — of your body
  13. last — to go on
  14. last — finally
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. rule — government
  17. ruler — a monarch
  18. chest — a box
  19. net — in sport
  20. stand — to bear
  21. stand — for spectators
  22. chest — of your body
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. stand — on your feet

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