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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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. The light ________________ burned out.
  8. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. game — a match
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. bulb — for light
  8. bulb — of a plant
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. bulb — for light
  14. rule — government
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. pitch — completely
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. wax — to grow
  21. rule — a law
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. fork — in a road
  24. game — wild animals

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