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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. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. staff — a stick
  5. field — farmland
  6. rest — a break
  7. wax — to grow
  8. rest — what's left
  9. game — a match
  10. field — for sport
  11. rest — what's left
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. staff — employees
  15. stem — to come from
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. rule — a law
  20. field — a subject
  21. game — wild animals
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. staff — employees
  24. perch — the fish

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