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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 116 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 is an ace ________________.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. wind — moving air
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. drill — a practice
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. rule — government
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. drill — army training
  12. cue — for pool
  13. wax — to grow
  14. rule — a law
  15. cue — a hint
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. wind — moving air
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. drill — the tool
  21. cue — a signal
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. fork — in a road
  24. fork — to eat with

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