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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 116 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 water is too ________________.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  12. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. Recycle the empty soda ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. wax — to grow
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. file — a tool
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. file — a line of people
  7. pitch — completely
  8. key — in music
  9. bore — to tire
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. can — to be able to
  12. can — a tin
  13. rule — a law
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. key — the most important part
  16. rule — government
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. cold — an illness
  20. key — for a lock
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. bore — to drill
  23. file — a document
  24. can — a tin

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