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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 chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. My father caught me by the ________________.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — to rule out
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. spring — a coil
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. net — in sport
  9. net — after costs
  10. scale — size or range
  11. scale — in music
  12. wound — an injury
  13. wax — to grow
  14. spring — of water
  15. rule — government
  16. rule — a law
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. spring — the season
  20. net — for catching
  21. wound — an injury
  22. racket — a loud noise
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. scale — for weighing

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