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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. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  24. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. rule — a law
  3. rule — government
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. chest — a box
  6. wax — to grow
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. chest — of your body
  9. shower — to wash
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. chest — of your body
  12. shower — rain
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. scale — in music
  15. bark — to shout
  16. jam — to spread on bread
  17. wind — moving air
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. wind — moving air
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. jam — a tight spot
  24. jam — in traffic

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