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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. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  12. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. rule — a law
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. wax — to grow
  7. mine — for digging
  8. last — finally
  9. last — final
  10. bat — the animal
  11. cue — for pool
  12. cue — a signal
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. pit — a hole
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. rule — government
  20. pit — in a race
  21. cue — a hint
  22. last — to go on
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. bat — in an idiom

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