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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. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. wax — to grow
  3. tear — from crying
  4. field — for sport
  5. court — for sport
  6. rule — a law
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. court — of a king
  9. tear — to rip
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. band — a ring
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. field — a subject
  15. court — of law
  16. rule — government
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. field — farmland
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. kick — in football
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. tear — from crying
  24. wax — for sculpting

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