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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. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  8. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  9. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  10. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. spell — letters
  3. spell — a short time
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. land — ground
  6. staff — a stick
  7. can — a tin
  8. staff — employees
  9. can — to be able to
  10. can — a tin
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. wound — an injury
  13. land — a country
  14. wax — to grow
  15. wound — an injury
  16. rule — a law
  17. spell — magic
  18. rule — government
  19. land — to come down
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. staff — employees
  23. band — a music group
  24. band — a rubber band

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