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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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. rule — government
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. rule — a law
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. last — finally
  8. last — final
  9. last — to go on
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. mine — for digging
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. wax — to grow
  20. bore — to tire
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. bore — to drill
  24. hide — animal skin

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