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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 120 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. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. When was this ________________ built?
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. rule — to rule out
  3. rule — a law
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. last — to go on
  6. file — a line of people
  7. clip — to cut
  8. last — finally
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. last — final
  12. kid — to tease
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. temple — side of the head
  17. clip — for paper
  18. kid — child
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. rule — government
  21. file — a document
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. clip — a video
  24. wax — to grow

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