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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 rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. season — of the year
  4. rule — government
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. sharp — clever
  8. season — in sport
  9. vault — an arched ceiling
  10. rule — a law
  11. file — a document
  12. tube — a container
  13. land — ground
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. tube — the underground
  16. wax — to grow
  17. vault — a safe
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. land — to come down
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. file — a line of people
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. land — a country

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