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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. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  6. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. When was this ________________ built?
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  21. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — to handle
  2. band — a ring
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. deal — a big deal
  6. board — a committee
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. wax — to grow
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. rush — hurry
  13. file — a document
  14. file — a tool
  15. band — a music group
  16. board — to get on
  17. board — a flat piece
  18. file — a line of people
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. temple — side of the head
  22. scale — in music
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. scale — size or range

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