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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. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. The ________________ went through the wall.
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. march — the month
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. game — a match
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. rule — government
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. march — music
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. wound — an injury
  16. track — to keep track
  17. wound — an injury
  18. wax — to grow
  19. track — a song
  20. dip — to sink
  21. march — the month
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. game — wild animals
  24. track — a path

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