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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 120 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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. The ________________ went through the wall.
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  9. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  10. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. last — final
  3. last — finally
  4. bat — the animal
  5. rule — a law
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. nail — on a finger
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. bound — certain
  13. prune — to trim
  14. rule — government
  15. mouse — for a computer
  16. bound — tied together
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. bound — obliged
  19. prune — to trim
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. wax — to grow
  22. last — to go on
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. wax — in the ear

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