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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. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. When was this ________________ built?
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  22. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  23. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. temple — side of the head
  3. clip — to cut
  4. wax — to grow
  5. staff — employees
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. field — for sport
  8. bank — for money
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. rule — a law
  12. spell — letters
  13. staff — employees
  14. rule — government
  15. spell — a short time
  16. clip — a video
  17. field — a subject
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. spell — magic
  20. field — farmland
  21. bank — of a river
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. bank — for money
  24. clip — for paper

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