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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. Where did you ________________ them?
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  10. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  13. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  14. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  19. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — to rob
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. jam — a tight spot
  4. file — a tool
  5. wax — to grow
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. board — to get on
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. board — a flat piece
  10. mug — a face
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. mug — a cup
  13. jam — in traffic
  14. staff — employees
  15. staff — a stick
  16. staff — employees
  17. file — a document
  18. board — a committee
  19. jam — to spread on bread
  20. rule — government
  21. rule — a law
  22. capital — money
  23. file — a line of people
  24. capital — a city

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