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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. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. race — a contest
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. wax — to grow
  5. tear — from crying
  6. wind — moving air
  7. wind — moving air
  8. club — a group
  9. tear — to rip
  10. race — humankind
  11. tear — from crying
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. race — the arms race
  14. bound — obliged
  15. stock — shares
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. rule — a law
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. stock — goods
  20. bound — certain
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. bound — tied together
  23. club — for golf
  24. club — for dancing

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