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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  14. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  15. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. Let us try to swim against the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. wax — to grow
  4. mouse — for a computer
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. saw — the tool
  8. rule — government
  9. object — an aim
  10. clip — for paper
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. object — a thing
  15. object — to protest
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. rule — a law
  19. clip — to cut
  20. current — electric
  21. saw — the tool
  22. clip — a video
  23. current — happening now
  24. current — of water

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