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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. The old man leaned on his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. season — of the year
  3. rash — a series
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. wax — to grow
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. file — a document
  8. staff — employees
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. rule — a law
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. chip — for betting
  16. rash — hasty
  17. staff — employees
  18. chip — to eat
  19. rule — government
  20. file — a tool
  21. season — in sport
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. file — a line of people
  24. staff — a stick

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