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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 116 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 chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — to rule out
  2. capital — a city
  3. row — to paddle
  4. shower — to wash
  5. wax — to grow
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. spell — a short time
  9. wind — moving air
  10. rule — government
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. spell — letters
  16. rule — a law
  17. capital — money
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. wind — moving air
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. spell — magic
  23. shower — rain
  24. row — a line

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